Honeywell, Frequentis Demonstrate “Advanced Ground Control Station for eVTOL Aircraft, Reach Major Milestone”
Honeywell and Frequentis, have reached a major milestone in advancing the operation of remotely piloted aircraft in European airspace as part of the SESAR Joint Undertaking (Operate Anywhere) project consortium, reports a press release.
Via a successful flight test in June that took place in Amstetten, Austria, Honeywell showcased a new ground control station (GCS) for eVTOL aircraft, leveraging new functionalities of the two-display GCS that is also operated from Honeywell’s Brno research and development facility.
With a collaborative interface with air traffic control, the GCS operator was able to receive commands originated by air traffic control to increase operational efficiency through real-time data exchange with different systems. This development paves the way for safer and more efficient uncrewed aircraft operations
David Shilliday, VP and General Manager of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) at Honeywell Aerospace Technologies, remarked, “These demonstrations are a critical step toward integrating AAM systems into everyday airspace, promising significant advancements in drone operations.”
Austria-based Frequentis, a global supplier of communication and information systems for control centres with safety-critical tasks, provided enhanced U‑space services for the flight test, including mission conformance monitoring and tactical conflict detection.

An example of a Ground Control Station (This one produced by Jouav)
The release explains, “U‑space, a new air traffic management environment for unmanned aerial systems, uses a set of new services based on a high degree of digitisation, automation of functions and specific procedures created to safely allow a large number of drones within an airspace.”
It goes on, “Using both simulated and real drones, Honeywell’s ground control station also demonstrated the initial implementation of a ground-based detect and avoid solution, a safety tool designed to make drone flights safer and more reliable, especially in uncontrolled airspace.”
These trials mark an important step in the Honeywell-led Project OperA, one of the two projects awarded through the latest round of funding from the European Union’s SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking. Project OperA focuses on building solutions for complex operations of AAM, piloted eVTOL aircraft and uncrewed cargo aircraft in real-life European airspace.

Günter Graf (Credit: Frequentis)
Günter Graf, VP of New Business Development at Frequentis, commented, “The OperA research project provides us with an innovative environment to enhance existing solutions and develop new technologies.”
He continued, “The validation exercise in Amstetten was a significant milestone in ensuring the seamless integration of the extended and highly automated U‑space services, including mission conformance monitoring and tactical conflict detection, with Honeywell’s ground control station and data exchange in real time.”
For more information
https://www.honeywell.com/us/en
(Top image: Honeywell)
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