A Concept for Novel Military Airspace Usage Based on U-space

Abstract

The paper describes a novel concept to use aspects of the European civil U-space concept to enable transfer of military aircraft through controlled airspace into a mission area. U-space, as an ecosystem for automated functions and procedures for manned and unmanned aircraft, can be utilised by shared airspace. Roles, responsibilities and benefits in example scenarios are worked out, including a case study from Manching airport (ETSI) to Cochstedt airport (EDBC), Germany. The concept itself is based on a shared airspace for civil and military actors, managed through dynamic airspace reconfiguration (DAR) to create a temporary transfer airspace towards the mission area, both controlled by military air traffic control. Suitable technical and operational handover methods are used to transfer the aircraft to the military U-space. By using the presented concept, military airspace can be used more efficiently and in ad-hoc situations with high automation and less coordination effort.