Since December 2014, ENAV, jointly  with other industry partners, has established the SESAR Deployment Alliance, the consortium selected by the European Commission as the “SESAR Deployment Manager” responsible for the coordination and supervision of the upgrading of Europe’s Air Traffic Management infrastructure.

SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) is the technological pillar of the Single European Sky (SES) to modernise the European Air Traffic Management (ATM) infrastructure. ENAV has actively participated in the SESAR Programme since its very beginning and is strongly determined to support the successful outcome of the initiative. It is full member of the SESAR Joint Undertaking (SJU), the public-private partnership established to manage the SESAR Development Phase entrusted to validate the new ATM technologies and procedures to meet SES performance objectives.

Strongly convinced of the pivotal role of SJU in the SES framework to conduct a delivery-oriented and performance-driven Research & Innovation (R&I) Programme, ENAV has supported the initiative to extend the SJU mandate beyond 2016 in partnership with other stakeholders and its linked third parties.

ENAV has therefore renewed its firm willingness to continue its full participation in SJU and its active support to SESAR 2020 Programme until its completion in 2024, as a natural continuation of the work being conducted in the first Development Phase - SESAR 1.

 

ENAV in SESAR 1 (2009-2016) at a Glance

• Contribution of 5.500 man-months, i.e. around 60 Full Time Equivalent Resources

• Participation in 85 Projects (out of 310), 15 of which with “Leader” Role

• Leadership of “Validation Infrastructure Adaptation & Integration” (Work Package 3)

 

ENAV participation in SJU R&D activities entails a noteworthy effort in terms of human resources and technologies evaluated in 55 million Euros over SESAR 1 and expected 25 million Euros for the SESAR 2020 Programme.

To this end, ENAV relies on proven expertise in a variety of ATM domains and its Prototype Systems Centre supports full scale SESAR validation exercises through the use of Industrial and Simulation platforms in realistic pre-operational environments, meeting SESAR JU demand for shortening the gap between R&D and implementation of future ATM Systems.

ENAV membership in SESAR JU, besides confirming its leading role in shaping the future of ATM in Europe, also constitutes a unique opportunity  to drive the change process towards the new generation of European ATM systems.

 

For further info, please contact:

Daniele Teotino (daniele.teotino@enav.it)

SESAR FREE Solutions project (Free Route Environmental and Efficient Solutions) is one of the large scale demonstration project led by ENAV, launched in September 2014, with the scope to demonstrate that European airspace is ready to move towards the free route implementation and the Airspace Users’ preferred business trajectories. The Free Solutions Consortium is composed by ENAV (project coordinator), Air France, Alitalia, DFS, DSNA, Eurocontrol/Network Manager, Lufthansa, MATS, Ryanair, Skyguide and Swiss, HOP! and KLM as third party of Air France, and SICTA and Techno Sky as affiliates of ENAV.

 

The Project is divided in three phases of flight trials: starting from the City Pairs phase, where a set of trajectories connecting two airports was tested and optimized, through a Direct Route phase in which the City Pairs trajectories were extended and/or connected to other optimized trajectories to permit the use by more Airspace Users and for several destinations; the third phase of the project has just ended; its scope is to assess the benefits of the usage of direct routes in a more extensive way, by creating a Direct Route Airspace, covering Zurich, Geneva, and partially Marseille area control centre, along with a Free Route Airspace over the Italian and Maltese area control centres, leaving also the Airspace User the possibility to freely plan a route according to their needs.

 

Results of the activities are encouraging: during the second phase of flight trials in November 2015, only from Consortium Airspace Users saved more than 18.000 Kg of fuel (more than 52.000 kg of CO2). In addition, the reference airspace was made available to all users.

 

The benefits listed in the table below are only related to data provided by the Consortium Airlines.

 

 

For further info, please contact:

Giancarlo Ferrara (giancarlo.ferrara.@enav.it)

Mediterranean ATM Live Exercise (MedALE)

 

MedALE  is one of the nine integrated remotely piloted aircraft system demonstration activities co-funded by the SESAR JU (2013-2015), that conducted first live flight trials of remotely piloted vehicles.

 

The Project included an initial phase of distributed simulation involving the NATO Modelling & Simulation Centre of Excellence of Rome. Three RPAS simulators were networked with the aim of evaluating a complex environment: the Sky-Y, integrating for the first time a Satellite Command & Control Datalink simulation provided by Thales Alenia Space Italia and ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast) in Turin; the Selex-ES Falco in Ronchi dei Legionari airport and the Nimbus C-Fly in Lombardore, Northern Italy.

 

To complete the scenario, ENAV simulated ATC (Air Traffic Control) stations (civil and military) and the “surrounding air traffic” generation and control systems. This phase provided useful information for multi RPAS operation to proceed with final live trials.

 

In June 2015, ENAV performed the first live flight trial using a remotely piloted vehicle to assess the feasibility RPAS integration into civil airspace. During the trial, ENAV personnel performed a live demonstration with air traffic controllers simulating a normal civil airspace procedure for Sky-Y RPAS. The instructions for route and altitude changes were designed to simulate typical interaction with normal air traffic in a bid to prevent conflict situations.

 

Moreover, the test saw emergency procedures, such as command and control link loss and loss of engine power. The RPAS was configured to support interaction between the pilot at the ground station as well as the civil air traffic controllers. This was aimed at demonstrating the possibility of managing an RPAS in nominal and emergency conditions.

 

The Sky-Y was equipped with a display showing surrounding real traffic information through the automatic dependent surveillance broadcast IN (ADS-B IN) to perform the trial prior certification of the Italian civil aviation authority (ENAC).

 

For further info, please contact:

Paolo Alviani (paolo.alviani@enav.it)

The gradual evolution of aeronautical communications from analogic to digital is an actual process. Global  and European plans for the modernisation of ATM exist and deal with this topic in depth, trying to manage it in a comprehensive, timely and coordinated way.

 

ICAO Global Air Navigation Plan and European ATM Master Plan identify communication roadmaps, with overall indications both on related infrastructure and timing.

 

Data-Link Communications represent one of the major technical enabler for the SESAR Concept of Operations; in particular the coordinated and efficient deployment  of fundamental ATM Functions such as i4D and SWIM, found in Data-Link Communications availability the essential catalyst.

 

ENAV is proactively involved in several international initiatives and projects (in some of them with a leading role) on governance models as well as technical and operational aspects of the Data-Link environment:

 

- A6 Study on Data-Link Services (2013-2015)

- SESAR JU Capacity Study (VDL mode 2 Capacity and Performance Analysis)

- SESAR JU ELSA Study (VDL mode 2 Measurement, Analysis and Simulation campaign)

- Data-Link Services implementation development activities in BLUEMED FAB Region

- Implementation Projects in Innovative & Networks Executive Agency (INEA) CALLs 2014 and 2015

 

These activities have increasingly allowed ENAV to gain a comprehensive and structured experience in the Data-Link Communication domain that will pave the way to the wider platform of initiatives on which Europe will build its future ATM Data-Link Communication infrastructure.

 

For further info, please contact:

Gianguido Bragagnini (gianguido.bragagnini@enav.it)

 

 

The A6, taking on the Deployment Management challenge, have recognized the importance to play a central role in the governance of the implementation of SESAR, jointly with the other major ATM operational stakeholders.

 In this respect, they started coordination amongst ATM operational actors to lead the SESAR deployment phase. The A6 became promoters of the Industry cooperation by proactively seeking cooperation with Airspace users and Airports to jointly prepare a successful deployment manager governance proposal through the creation of the SESAR Deployment Alliance.

The SESAR Deployment Alliance (SDA) was appointed in December 2014 as SESAR Deployment Manager (SDM) by the European Commission. The SDM is a partnership of leading airlines (Air France-KLM group, easyJet, IAG and Lufthansa Group), airports (SDAG - SESAR-related Deployment Airport Group) and air navigation service providers – DFS (Germany), DSNA (France), ENAIRE (Spain), ENAV (Italy) and NATS (UK), working with PANSA (Poland) and a group representing ANSPs members of the COOPANS alliance including AustroControl (Austria), Croatia Control, IAA (Ireland), LFV (Sweden) and Naviair (Denmark). They are committed to the principle of the Single European Sky and to deploying the technologies with the aim to create customer and environmental efficiencies.

 

The SESAR Deployment Manager (SDM) is the entity that synchronises and coordinates the modernisation of Europe’s air traffic management system under the political oversight of the European Commission. The main task of the SESAR Deployment Manager is to develop, submit to the European Commission for its approval and execute the Deployment Programme, a project view strictly drawn from the Pilot Common Project (PCP) set by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 716/2014, as well as any subsequent Common Projects in future regulations. Through the Deployment Programme, the SDM will ensure efficient synchronisation and coordination of implementation projects required to implement the PCP and the related investments.

 

ENAV is very active within the SDM with a two-fold role:

 

• As SESAR Deployment Manager: ENAV is one of the members the consortium, contributing directly to SDM success thanks to the expertise of ENAV managers and staff covering roles of responsibility within SDM governance;
  
  

• As Implementing Partner: ENAV successfully participated in the 2014 Call for Proposals of the European funding programme - Connecting Europe Facilities (CEF) – submitting projects related to the SDM Deployment Programme and becoming member of the Framework Partnership Agreement.

 

 

For further info, please contact:

 

Cristiano Cantoni (cristiano.cantoni@enav.it)

Massimo Reale (massimo.reale@enav.it)

 

 

The Coflight-eFDP System is a next generation Flight Data Processing System designed to meet the needs of  European Air Navigation Service Providers for the next decades, satisfying the need for the harmonisation and interoperability of air traffic management systems in Europe and facilitating the integration of advanced tools in the global ATM system.

 

The system will replace the legacy flight data processing system that currently exists with a very advanced new generation system, with no disruption to service through a staged implementation plan. The system, harmonised and interoperable on a European scale, is able to support air traffic control operations for the next 20 years, for the benefit of all air transport stakeholders. It contains features that will satisfy the general needs of ATM in Europe and with an open design that will allow its integration in any particular air navigation services provider’s environment.

 

Coflight Key Features

 

• Coflight supports the following missions:
• 
  
  

• • flight data services for civil ATC;

• • flight data services for military ATC;

• • flight data services for both civil and military ATC (the so called co-localised missions).

 

The Civil Air Traffic Control is the main mission that the system shall support. In this mission, the system shall provide services for En-route ACCs, Approach ACCs and to Aerodrome Control Functions.

 

In the military Air Traffic Control mission, the system shall provide services to military Air Traffic Controllers for the control of military flights, in a manner similar to the civil ATC mission. The system shall manage both IFR and VFR flights, providing specific services to VFR flights.

 

Coflight supports different states for the aforementioned missions:

 

• operational state;
• training state, for training air traffic controllers and supervisors;
• testing state, for testing new software versions, new operational procedures and interoperability  capacities.

 

Coflight brings the following state of the art functional improvements to flight data processing systems:

 

• 4D based trajectory predictions, advanced aircraft modelling, considering of aircraft intents, downlink of aircraft parameters, airport and traffic flow constraints and meteorological data improved coordination with the integration of all the letters of agreement among Centres and the application of Flexible Use of Airspace (FUA) principles;
• integration of data provided by air/ground datalink applications;
• highly reactive management of airspace and route structures, dynamic adjustment of sector boundaries to balance ATC capacity and traffic load, and automatic calculation of the consequences on flights.

 

The system includes support for the emerging European interoperability standards including:

• support for seamless interoperability between ATS providers, IFPS/CFMU, pilots, aircraft operators and airports;
• integration of en-route and approach with sequencing tools;
• introduction of multi-sector planning tools;
• improvement of coordination procedures with conflict detection tools;
•  acceptance of direct routes through multiple Centres.

 

With the aim to reduce maintenance costs and to facilitate developments, the system architecture is model driven (MDA) and comply with recognised standards (CORBA, object oriented languages, UML modelling tools).

 

This new highly fault-tolerant architecture complies with the Safety Regulatory Requirements applicable to CNS/ATM systems (2096/2005 and 482/2008 European regulations).

 

The basic philosophy of the implementation programme is to reduce risks to a minimum by adopting an incremental development strategy. The level of change at each step will be limited, enabling phased integration in the overall National and European ATM systems, rapid corrections in the case of errors and a quick investment returns.

 

The following figure shows the Coflight Product Roadmap:

 

• V1, delivered in 2010, provided a new CORBA based middleware, the architectural infrastructure for the whole ATM system and a basic version of the new FDPS;

• V2, delivered in May 2013, provided the completion of the functional requirements;
•  V2R1, delivered in July 2014, is including an operational requirements’ update;
•  V3, delivered in 2015, provides the new ED133 compliant interoperability mechanism and integration with aircrafts through Data-Link
• V3R1, expected for Oct 2017, will be the first version to be used in operational service.

 

 

For further info, please contact:

Claudio Cannavicci (claudio.cannavicci@enav.it)

 

Aireon                          is a Company to design, finance, procure, deploy and operate a global, satellite-basedaviation

monitoring service utilizing ADS-B technology. ENAV participate in AIREON with 12,5% of shares, other shareholders being

NAVCANADA, Iridium Communications Inc., IAA and Naviair. Aireon will take benefit of the world’s furthest reaching network, being Aireon special ADS-B receiver payloads to be hosted on each of the Iridium Next 66 LEO operational satellites constellation. Once deployed this constellation in 2017, the Aireon design will deliver the first-ever space-based global aviation surveillance system. Thanks to Aireon service, the ADS-B message transmitted by the aircraft and including information on its position as accurate as calculated onboard could reach an ANSPs wherever the aircraft is flying on the globe. Aireon data are expected to have a strong positive impact on air operations both by allowing the most efficient surveillance in areas not covered by radar and by giving all the benefits by a further surveillance layer in areas already radar-covered. Moreover, the possibility for an ANSP of performing

 

SURVEILLANCE

 

Aireon Technical Interchange Meeting - Rome November 2015 surveillance in every airspace around the world will create new opportunities for future air traffic management optimisation and value-added services. ENAV participation in Aireon is also intended to bring the development of this Satellite ADS-B service all the experience and skills of one of the major European ANSP as well as to develop synergies with other international initiatives in the Mediterranean and other areas like South-Eastern Asia, where, in Kuala Lumpur, operates the subsidiary “ENAV Asia Pacific”.

 

 

 

 

The Single European Sky regulatory framework is now experiencing the full implementation of Functional Airspace Blocks (FABs) by the EU Member States.

 

 

A Functional Airspace Block is a portion of airspace where air traffic is managed regardless of existing national boundaries, taking into account operational and technical requirements and considering Airspace User’s needs at the centre of service provision.

Within  an established FAB, Air Traffic Management is harmonised among the Partners,  limiting costs, improving operational capacity, reducing the environmental impact of operations, while Safety levels are preserved, if not increased .

 

The BLUE MED FAB project is the European central/south-eastern FAB initiative. It represents the natural European gate dedicated to air traffic flows coming from Africa and the Middle-East, namely among the regions with the prospective fast growing trend in the next future.

 

The BLUE MED Partners are the EU Member States of Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Malta, and in the last years also Albania, Tunisia and Egypt contributed as Associated Partners , while Lebanon and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan participated actively as Observers. More recently, the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the BLUE MED FAB for its involvement in the initiative.

 

The BLUE MED FAB is open to the participation of other States who are interested in cooperating in a wide range of activities, allowing the creation of benefits generated by the integration of operational and technical solutions developed in the Mediterranean area.

 

Today, based on a Feasibility Study conducted between 2007 and 2008 and a Definition Phase developed from 2009 to 2012 - during which the validity of the Project as well as the identification of the technical, regulatory, Safety/Security details (also showing the expected economic results) were demonstrated, BLUE MED FAB, coordinated by ENAV, has undertaken its Implementation Phase, a real coordinated deployment initiative in which operational and technical improvements identified in the Definition Phase will be delivered according to the agreed roadmap, which also includes  collaboration and cooperation with the European SESAR Deployment initiative  and the ATM Industry.

 

The Implementation Phase is progressively determining a paramount shift in the organisation of Air Navigation Services over the Mediterranean basin, bringing competition advantages in the area and benefits for the Airspace Users in terms of enhanced efficiency of services, reduced delays and costs, with lowered environmental impact, always under the umbrella of improved Safety levels. All these benefits are also being coordinated with other FABs, through an inter-FAB cooperation platform which is trying to highlight best practices raising from FABs.

 

In line with the SES esprit, the coming years will see the fulfilment of FAB benefits for the Mediterranean Area, not only limited to the airspaces of the BLUE MED Member States, but also extended to neighbouring non-EU Countries, willing to share and integrate their experiences and practices in the Air Traffic Management.

 

 

For further info, please contact:

Claudio Cannavicci (claudio.cannavicci@enav.it)