The future foresees diverse types of low-altitude air vehicles which are manned and unmanned operating in non-segregated low altitude airspace. These may include remotely piloted aircraft, autonomous aircraft, helicopters, gliders, parachutes, drones, air-taxis, and more unknown types still to emerge. Therefore, the implementation of a traffic management system in the low altitude airspace is deemed crucial to ensure safe and efficient management of the heterogenous traffic. Is adoption of the current Air Traffic Management (ATM) system adequate to manage this traffic? Is the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management (UTM) system initiated and under development by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) adequate for the same purpose?The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has published a document called ‘Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management (UTM) – A Common Framework with Core Principles for Global Harmonization. This is a living document aiming to gather information on current and state-of the art solutions for UTM from various keys players such as UAS industry leaders, academics and aviation professionals through the DRONE ENABLE Symposium, to develop the UTM framework and core principles. The current edition discusses the following:
- Type of services that can be provided in the UTM environment.
- Gaps in the current ATM operational environment for UTM implementation, particularly at the boundaries between UTM and ATM systems.
- Issues with regards to current ATM system requirements, regulations, and procedures which are not applicable to the UTM system.
- Potential challenges to implement the UTM system including standards, policies, capabilities, and tools.