The ASF is managed by the CAA's AMS Monitoring and Oversight (AMO) team. They track and review the performance of successful applicants against the submitted Statement of Works (SoW), and in close collaboration with other relevant CAA departments, such as Finance, Procurement and the Safety and Airspace Regulation Group (SARG).
All applicants will be notified about the funding decision via email prior to the public announcement.
Successful applicants
December 2021 call:
Electronic Conspicuity Interoperability Test Programme ECITP sponsored by The Aviation Innovation Centre at Goodwood Aerodrome
The objective is to provide a rapid test facility with the expertise, systems and operational capability to gather accurate data about the interoperability of airborne and ground-based EC solutions and the performance of the associated airspace integration concepts that they are intended to enable.
Light GA Digitisation of Flight Data sponsored by Skyverse
This proposed ‘Digital Intentions’ project was a proof of concept to show end-to-end digital transfer of VFR flight details via the internet in order to cut out mundane RT, reduce ATCO workload and provide richer information to all ANSPs. The final report and trial video can be found on the Skyverse website.
March 2022 call:
FID Template Documentation for AFIS Airfields sponsored by Custom Chess Company
The project will create a set of product agnostic FID template documentation providing suitable guidance and Acceptable Means of Compliance to reduce the burden on AFIS units, whilst also providing some common standards to the documentation that will improve the efficiency of the CAA’s approval process and encourage common standards across industry.
Trial of ADS-B Obstruction Beacons on 978Mhz UAT sponsored by uAvionix
The purpose of the trial was to evaluate the efficacy of the obstruction beacons from the point of view of the operator and of other airspace users. This was be achieved by gathering feedback both verbally, by email and via questionnaires. This project completed in April. You can view the final report here.
Reduced Departure Divergence Industry Research for Updated Minimum Standards sponsored by Heathrow & Gatwick Airports
The objective of the research project is to reduce the existing minimum standard angle of divergence for conventional departures below 45˚, validated using flight data from existing Standard Instrument Departure (SID) routes and a robust analytical approach to loss of separation risk modelling.
Masterplan cumulative impact assessment and trade-off analysis sponsored by Glasgow and Edinburgh airports
This project focuses on how one airspace change affects another. This is tackling cumulative impacts and trade-offs using robust and practical approaches. This can be shared with other potential airspace changes to speedup delivery, minimise duplications of effort and divergent methods and reduce chance of failure in the process.
Fair and equitable distribution of aircraft noise - community research sponsored by Gatwick Airport
By working with communities affected by aircraft noise, this work aimed to gain information to feed into future airspace changes that will allow the environmental impacts of aviation to be more fairly distributed. The project aimed to define a set of metrics of the impact to give it a value that can then be used when a new airspace change application is being progressed so that environmental impacts are reduced overall. The interim report was published in February 2024.
Please read the final report which was published in November 2024.
March 2023 call:
Digital Transformation of Airspace Management sponsored by Airspace Unlimited Scotland
This proposal will result in advanced airspace analytics and design prototypes being developed into validated technology. The project outputs will give a systems level viewpoint, expandable to granular detail, on how to improve the design and management of reserved/special use airspace (SUA) and increase environmental performance for all types of user, particularly airlines and the military.
Electronic Conspicuity Interoperability Test Programme 2 sponsored by The Aviation Innovation Centre at Goodwood Aerodrome
This project follows on from phase 1 that completed in August 2023. The project will include further evolution of the Flight Information Display to present the dynamically activated Temporary Reserve Area (TRA) and enable automatic QNH (pressure) updates. It will also test the capabilities required to conduct remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) operations in an atypical air environment.
June 2023 call:
Enhanced use of flight intent data sponsored by Skyverse
This project continues from Skyverse’s previous AMS Support Fund project (Light GA digitisation of flight data). It will demonstrate three further capabilities in relation to the enhanced use of flight intent data. These are ‘Route Validation Capture’, ‘Route Validation Sharing’ and ‘Flight Intent Actioning’. The project is designed to test new technologies that could fundamentally change the way the UK builds a low cost, digital picture of visual flight rules (VFR) and flight intentions without either impacting a pilot's right to roam nor mandating any new requirements of them.
Next generation airspace operations and surveillance sponsored by LiveLink Aerospace
This project will further develop, deploy and gain test data on a transformational new airspace technology: PDAR (Passive Detection and Radar). This carries benefits such as reduction of CO2 emissions, increased efficiency in traffic routing and greater airport capacity.
Project Dragon’s Eye sponsored by Snowdonia Aerospace
The objective of the proposed project “Dragon’s Eye” is to perform end-to-end experimental flight testing of lower airspace Flight Information Service (FIS) procedures and surveillance technology options in the context of the illustrative use cases defined in the AMS for routine beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) and General Aviation (GA) flight in Class G airspace.
Fuel-efficient delay absorption sponsored by GE Aerospace
This project is focused on enhancing extended arrival management techniques to achieve two sets of benefits targeted in the AMS:
- To further reduce the level of stack holding at the main UK capacity-constrained airports
- To stream arriving aircraft prior to the top of descent
Stansted Airport will be used as the test case for this project.
October 2023 call:
UAV Operations Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) along the Onshore Construction Corridor of an Offshore Wind Farm sponsored by HexCam Ltd
This multi-phase project will build on the existing Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Sandbox trial. It will introduce methodologies to fully exploit the testing potential of a 60km construction corridor. The project will use Temporary Reserved Airspace (TRA) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) carrying Electronic Conspicuity (EC) devices to facilitate risk quantification. The final goal of the project will be to see UAVs operated along the corridor BVLOS in fully integrated airspace.
Advanced Drone Airspace Management – Discovery Phase sponsored by envAero
This project aims to develop the Concept of Operations (ConOps) and requirement set for an Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled tool capable of identifying, classifying, and managing suitable volumes of airspace to accommodate Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone operations.
May 2024 call:
Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) Arrivals Optimisation sponsored by Gatwick Airport
This project will resolve the ‘Reduced Night Noise’ (RNN) trial issues, and thereby develop guidance on PBN arrivals implementation to Future Airspace Strategy Implementation (FASI) airports, so that they can deliver the expected noise benefits. This activity will focus on simulations (not a trial) because this offers more flexibility. To complement the simulations, modelling will be undertaken to confirm the noise benefits of these procedures (as this is not measured in the simulations) and this will also confirm the carbon benefits of the procedures.
Reduced Departure Divergence (RDD) – Validation of Industry Research for Updated Minimum Standards sponsored by Gatwick Airport
The RDD Research Project was conducted in 2023 with support from the AMS Support Fund to produce a UK Minimum Standard for the angle of divergence required between Performance-based Navigation (PBN) departure routes to achieve a given interval (or split time) between successive aircraft taking off from the same runway end. This project will use a third-party organisation to validate the research.
Electronic Conspicuity Interoperability Test Programme (ECITP) 3 sponsored by The Aviation Innovation Centre
The scope of the ECITP Stage 3 concentrates on four related workstreams that build on the successes of Stages 1 and 2 to maximise the potential for electronic surveillance networks such as the one established at Goodwood Aerodrome to enable Airspace Integration. These are:
- System adaptations to protect against Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) interference,
- Developing and testing software and processes for assessing the performance of Automatic Dependent Service Broadcast (ADSB) emissions from aircraft
- Enhancing situational awareness via Traffic Information Service-Broadcast (TIS-B)
- Creation of an Air Traffic Density Analysis Tool
Flight Path Design Visual Repository sponsored by Tetra Tech UK and Trax
This project will develop and implement a web-based Flight Path Design Visual Repository (DVR) that is intended to enhance the development, engagement, and consultation aspects of all Airspace Change Proposals (ACPs) required to deliver airspace modernisation in the UK. The Flight Path DVR aims to deliver a step change in the UK’s approach to options development, community outreach and airspace integration, especially for larger, more complex modernisation ACPs like those included in the four regional clusters of the UK Airspace Change Masterplan (the Masterplan).
This brings the total number of Airspace Modernisation Strategy Support Fund projects to 19.
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