The SESAR 3 JU has identified the following innovative research elements that could be used to meet the challenge described above and achieve the expected outcomes.

• U-Space as accelerator of evolution of ATM. This element explores whether U-space can be an accelerator of the ATM innovation life cycle, facilitating faster, lower-risk adoption of new technologies or approaches (automation, artificial intelligence (AI), internet of things (IoT), cloud, ML Ops, etc.). This could include, for example, the use of U-space communication solutions for air–ground communications on the airport surface (to free up the very high frequency (VHF) spectrum for use in the air), adaptation of U-space automation concepts to manned aviation (e.g., advanced automation). In terms of the evolution of ATM, the aim will be to exploit the potential use of U-space technologies and concepts for manned aviation, with a focus on exploring the potential applicability of advanced U-space services to uncontrolled airspace, in particular Class G airspace.
• Integrated CONOPS U-space / ATM (R&I need: enable UAM). The research shall focus on:
  • The development of an integrated U-space / ATM CONOPS;
  • The evolution of CORUS CONOPS on U-space towards version 5.0 (research shall take into consideration the output of project CORUS-XUAM);
  • Provide a full U-space / IAM roadmap from ER to deployment and elaboration of key pending R&D needs to be addressed in the different pillars of the R&I pipeline.
• Urban airspace evolution. The objective of the research is to investigate potential solutions to introduce drones in the urban environment while still allowing flexibility for manned aircraft and drones as required by the typical urban mission profiles. The research should aim at developing a scalable concept and deepen into its applicability at a small scale (a few drones and manned aircraft flying typical missions in the same area, representative of the initial demand).
• Cooperative operations between drones. This research element explores operations where several drones need to operate cooperatively, such as drone swarming, formation flying, etc. that could involve the coordination of several flight plans as well as their dynamic evolution. Research can model the flight missions with in-flight battery replacement and investigate the U-space concepts that might be needed to support these operations. The research covers the integration of these missions in the U-space ecosystem.
• Improving risk modelling in U-space. Research activities shall develop more accurate air-risk and ground-risk models (e.g., more accurate estimation of the severity of an aircraft crashing on the ground due either to a direct impact or to a mid-air collision) to better understand the link between the TLS and the subsequent impact e.g., frequency of fatalities, economic impact, reputational impact, etc. The scope may include the link to potential models for insurance policies.
• Integration of air vehicles and personal air vehicles. In the future, new unmanned aircraft systems and personal air vehicles will fly long range and at higher altitudes to feed airports. This research will investigate the necessary seamless integration of those personal air vehicles into a more automated ATM (R&I need: ATM/U-space integration).
• ATM/U-Space/UAM performance interdependency and trade-offs. Research shall explore the interdependencies between the ATM and U-space/UAM performance framework, analyse interdependencies between these environments and potential trade-offs to facilitate the deployment of U-space/UAM new services (R&I need: ATM/U-space integration).
• Multi-domain scenario generation service for U-space. Research aims at developing a multi-domain what-if scenario generation service (air, land, surface, cybersecurity) capable of consuming and testing the services exposed from the flight plan management and drone fleet control platforms and being able to generate different load situations, emergencies or simulation of different scenarios in real time (examples in the Funding&Tenders).