Remain Well Clear for IFR RPAS Integration in Class D-G Airspace

Date de clôture : 10 sept. 2019  
APPEL À PROJET CLÔTURÉ

SESAR industrial research is working on the accommodation and integration of IFR RPAS in airspaces A-C, where the separator is always ATC. This topic explores the integration in airspaces D-G, where for IFR aircraft the separator may not always be the controller.

The aim is to provide the technical capabilities or procedural means to allow IFR RPAS to operate in airspace Class D to G where not all traffic may be known to ATC and/or where VFR traffic operates with less predictability (i.e. even if they are known their intentions may be unknown).

For an IFR RPAS to be able to safely operate in airspace classes D-G, cooperative and non-cooperative Detect and Avoid (DAA) systems are required for avoidance of other traffic, but there is no need to consider obstacles or weather, as these are covered by normal IFR provisions. The research must be focused on the development of the DAA functions that are required for IFR RPAS to be able to fly among manned VFR aircraft but are not required to fly among manned IFR aircraft.

Collision-avoidance work shall cover both cooperative and non-cooperative conflicts, including, where appropriate, interoperability with ACAS-Xu and TCAS. Research should consider the relay of resolution advisories to the remote-pilot station, as well as the possibility for the system to implement such advisories without reference to the remote-pilot station. In both cases, all aspects concerning system and link performance should be researched, as well as the technical and human implications of greater degrees of automation.

The capability that needs to be developed is the Remain Well Clear (RWC) function for IFR RPAS. RWC aims at allowing IFR RPAS to execute RWC manoeuvres to maintain separation against cooperative and potentially non-cooperative traffic. It must be noted that this RWC function is neither a safety net aimed at last-minute collision avoidance nor a mere display of the surrounding traffic for situational awareness, but an operational concept to allow IFR RPAS to self-separate from other aircraft just like VFR pilots separate from other aircraft based on their out-the-window view.

EUROCAE has published an operational concept [83] for how the RWC function for IFR RPAS will use these capabilities in airspaces D-G. Proposals must describe how their project will undertake the initial validation and refinement of the concept in EUROCAE document. The role of autonomous decision-making and the system performance requirements, including end-to-end requirements for the link (RLP), must be considered.

Please note that the RWC function addressed in this topic is not aimed at allowing the pilot to discharge the responsibility for the safety of its own aircraft described in ICAO Annex II, which refers to collision avoidance only and display of surrounding traffic information (also referred to as RWC, but not allowing the remote pilot to manoeuvre unless it is for collision avoidance purposes). The ICAO Annex II responsibilities for IFR aircraft are fully discharged with the collision avoidance solution is expected to be developed in IR Wave 2 (candidate solution 111) being developed, which are being researched in the SESAR Industrial Research programme.

The research must consider how the European concept will be impacted by the existing difference between Europe and the USA concerning the responsibility of IFR pilots when operating with unknown VFR aircraft in class E. Both rotary-wing and fixed-wing RPAS must be considered.

The research may consider the definition of a new framework with different airspace classes for which there are different non-cooperative detection requirements, e.g. depending on the requirements for equipage for manned aviation or for non-IFR drones. Special considerations may be needed to accommodate drones that may transition from IFR flight rules to non-IFR rules to fly using U-space services or vice versa.

Development of non-cooperative detection is out of the scope of this solution (it is in the scope of topic 24, CNS)

The relevance of previous research undertaken in SESAR in the area of ASAS and CAVS will be considered.

The research will need to develop minimum performance requirements for non-cooperative detection, and may need to develop enablers that meet those requirements.

The project must consider the following references: EUROCAE WG-105 documentation, EUROCAE WG-75 documentation, documentation from EDA projects MIDCAS, DASA and RPS, JARUS documentation and ICAO RPAS Panel. The output of this project should propose a refinement of the WG-105 DAA for airspaces D-G CONOPS (EUROCAE ED-258).

The project is expected to reserve effort to participate to standardization and ICAO working groups as part of their communication and dissemination activities.

The integration of RPAS in all classes of airspaces is part of the European ATM Master Plan, and contributes to the access and equity key performance area, which aims at ensuring that all airspace users have equal access to the airspace.