ENAV selects Leonardo for UAS UTM system
Leonardo has been selected by ENAV as its industrial partner for the development of an Italian UAS traffic management (UTM) system, the company announced on 25 May.
ENAV, the company that manages civilian air traffic in Italy, will establish a new company for the development of the UTM system and the provision of related services, including technical maintenance. ENAV will have a 60% stake in the new company while the remaining 40% will be held by a Leonardo-led industrial team that includes subsidiary Telespazio and Ingegneria Dei Sistemi (IDS).
The UTM system will integrate multiple technologies for the safe handling of registered, authenticated and identified RPA in civil airspace. The system will also support pre-flight planning, flight surveillance, emergency management and flight data recording.
Under the project, Leonardo will be responsible for coordinating the industrial team, for the system design as a system integrator and for the development of most of the software, while ensuring adequate levels of cyber protection.
Telespazio, a joint venture between Leonardo and Thales, will integrate the system with solutions based on EGNOS and Galileo European satellite navigation systems, Earth observation systems and satellite telecommunications. Telespazio will also coordinate the maintenance of the UTM system.
IDS will design and realise the UTM-Box component, a major element of UTM systems, and will contribute to the development of software services of the ground element.