ENAV selects the industrial partner for Drones Managament

ENAV, the Italian air navigation service provider, announces the completion of the tender process for the selection of its industrial Partner in the development of a platform to provide Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Traffic Management (UTM) services, i.e. to manage the so-called “drones” traffic.

The development of the platform will be managed by a newco in which ENAV will hold  60% of the shares and a grouping of industrial players led by Leonardo SpA, with stakes owned by Telespazio SpA and IDS Ingegneria dei Sistemi SpA, that will acquire 40% stake.

The selection process was the result of an Agreement signed with ENAC, the Italian civil aviation authority and ENAV, under which the Company, as the Italian air navigation service provider, undertook to develop and manage a specific air traffic management system for UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) and to define the procedures for the provision of services through the development of a platform that enables the integration of multiple, complex technologies for the safe handling of unmanned aerial vehicles.

In line with the provisions contained in the Agreement and with its own institutional mission -ensure safety in air traffic-, ENAV's objective is to enable conventional air traffic to coexist with the needs of drones and their users, thus allowing these vehicles to be used for a growing number of public utility services while ensuring safety in the skies.

ENAV proposes itself, therefore, as the reference operator for the development of the drone market, currently still in an embryonic stage but with enormous potential. A study on future conducted by SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) has estimated that there will be more than 7 million drones flying in European skies by 2035.

The CEO of ENAV Roberta Neri commented: With the establishment of this newco, ENAV will be able to take a leading role in pursuing technological innovation in this sector with the primary objective of ensuring safety, the central pillar of our mission, and also to capture important business opportunities. The management of drones is one of the key initiatives of our 2018-2022 Business Plan. Recent data and forecasts allow us to believe that it will indeed be a very rapidly growing phenomenon. Thanks to the in depth technical assessment conducted during the selection process, we believe we have chosen a technological Partner of exceptionally high calibre within the international scene.