NextGen and SESAR: Opportunities for UAS Integration

Globally, many nations are anticipating tremendous future growth of aviation and air traffic. In the U.S., the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is planning for the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), which involves coordinated concepts and programs to increase capacity and efficiency, improve user access and safety, and to reduce environmental impacts. In Europe, the European Commission is coordinating its Single European Sky Air Traffic Management (ATM) Research (SESAR) program to similarly improve safety and air traffic flows, to create additional capacity, and to increase efficiency. These two visions share many common elements and assumptions about the air traffic system twenty years from now. Selected elements of these initiatives may also make it easier to permit Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to fly seamlessly in the same airspace as manned aircraft. This paper analyses the opportunities for integrating UAS into the future airspace system through concepts such as 4D Trajectory Management, ADS-B surveillance, improved information sharing, and dynamic airspace structures. Synergies between concepts are highlighted, and potential methods for manned/unmanned aircraft operation are discussed.