Fifteen aerospace companies have embarked on a European project to validate complex advanced air mobility operations under real-life air traffic management conditions.
Project OperA – derived from ‘operate anywhere’ – is led by Honeywell and the partner consortium will work with eVTOL aircraft developers Vertical Aerospace, Lilium, and Pipistrel Vertical Solutions to validate technologies on crewed and uncrewed vehicles.
The aim of the project is to enable safe and efficient operations in all airspace types, whether controlled or uncontrolled, and it will also cover abnormal and contingency situations.
It will address air-ground integration, optimised routes, and explore the transition from piloted to automated flight for a number of autonomy technologies.
Among the technologies involved will be precision navigation and detect-and-avoid systems.
The programme – part-funded by the Single European Sky research initiative SESAR – will be directed from Honeywell’s Czech-based development facility in Brno.
“We believe that aviation autonomy and automation are key to scaled and safe advanced mobility operations,” says Honeywell Aerospace urban air mobility vice-president Dave Shilliday.
He adds that progress towards autonomy will generate a “long list of improvements” for current operations – including reduced- or single-crew flight, and more optimised flight planning.
The partnership will include air navigation organisation Eurocontrol and air traffic management providers from Latvia, Lithuania and Spain, as well as vertiport operators and industry suppliers.
OperA is scheduled to conclude in 2026.
