DFS starts an EU-funded project for more safety in airspace

The kick-off meeting for the SESAR 2020 project PROSA took place at the DFS research centre at the beginning of December. The project revolves around controller tools and team organisation for the provision of separation in air traffic management.

Twenty-three partner companies and around 30 subcontractors will be working closely together in the next three years on a central issue for the work of air navigation services, namely separation management, and will be developing path-defining ideas and testing them with controllers on simulators. PROSA is made up of seven sub-projects, known as solutions in SESAR 2020, and will deal with the safety-relevant issues of conflict detection and conflict resolution proposals. DFS will focus on two areas. Firstly, DFS will develop additional functionalities for conflict detection and resolution based on the work already done on controller assistance tools and will continue with the research on sectorless flying. In addition, DFS will work on the integration of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) into controlled airspace.

The project, led by DFS, is one of the largest of the 25 SESAR 2020 projects funded as part of the Horizon 2020 EU research programme. The overall budget amounts to approximately €43 million and the grant aid level is up to 70 percent.