Submit Proposals for Digital Flight Rules Programme

Scope

• Evolution of ICAO Annex II (Rules of the Air):
  • This concept builds on previous SESAR research for the integration of IFR RPAS integration in airspace A-G, where the ICAO Annex II responsibility to exercise on-board vigilance to avoid collisions is fulfilled by using CDTI traffic information instead of the traditional out-the-window vigilance used by crewed aircraft. The objective is to analyse how previous research performed in SESAR 2020 PJ.13, PJ.13-W2 and ongoing project IRINA and provide foundational conceptual work to support the development and validation of a new flight rules concept (“digital flight rules”) to complement VFR and IFR, to be applied in environments where all aircraft are equipped with cooperative surveillance.
• Evolution of the overall ICAO framework to support a highly automated ATM environment
  • The objective is to analyse the potential need for evolution other ICAO Annexes and documents (e.g., Annex 11 (Air Traffic Services), PANS OPS, PANS ATM , Manual on ATCO competency-based training and assessment (Doc 10056), airworthiness and certification material, Annex 10 “aeronautical communications”, ICAO doc. 9771 “Manual on Collaborative Air Traffic Flow Management”, etc.) to allow the implementation of the highly automated vision put forward by the European ATM Master Plan at a global level. The research should consider the potential impact of the evolution of the role of the human operator in the ATM system required to achieve the MP vision. Analysing the changes to the ICAO documentation that might be required to cover the possibility that the functions that are allocated to the controller in the current text be performed by a certified ATC ground system instead of by the human operator, considering, for example CPDLC being handled on the ground side by the ATC system instead of the human operator, automatic delivery of ATC clearances by the ATC ground system without prior validation by a human operator, the move from voice to CPDLC as primary means of communication, etc.

Funding Information

• Budget (million EUR) for 2025: 10 Million
• Maximum expected EU contribution per project (million EUR): 1 Million

Eligibility Criteria

• Any legal entity, regardless of its place of establishment, including legal entities from no associated third countries or international organisations (including international European research organisations) is eligible to participate (whether it is eligible for funding or not), provided that the conditions laid down in the Horizon Europe Regulation have been met, along with any other conditions laid down in the specific call/topic.
• A ‘legal entity’ means any natural or legal person created and recognised as such under national law, EU law or international law, which has legal personality and which may, acting in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations, or an entity without legal personality.
• Entities eligible for funding:
  • To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:
    • the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions:
      • Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.
    • the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States:
      • Aruba (NL), Bonaire (NL), Curação (NL), French Polynesia (FR), French Southern and Antarctic Territories (FR), Greenland (DK), New Caledonia (FR), Saba (NL), Saint Barthélemy (FR), Sint Eustatius (NL), Sint Maarten (NL), St. Pierre and Miquelon (FR), Wallis and Futuna Islands (FR).
    • Countries associated to Horizon Europe;
      • Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom.

For more information, visit EC.