A European consortium developing new drone and unmanned tech at Shannon has received EU funding to make a “demonstrator” for unmanned traffic management systems.

Coordinated by Future Mobility Campus Ireland (FMCI), this consortium will conduct a three-year engineering project to develop, deploy and optimise Europe’s unmanned flight ecosystem.

Describing itself as Ireland’s “first test bed for future mobility”, the FMCI is a development centre based in the Shannon freezone that works on both ground and air mobility tech.

The FMCI said the new project, known as EALU-AER, represents a “major vote of confidence” in Ireland’s local expertise, industry operators and the resourcing of air mobility development.

Other members of the consortium include Shannon Group, the Irish Aviation Authority, Collins Aerospace (Ireland and France), Dublin-based Avtrain, and Deepblue in Italy.

The consortium has received the three-year funding award to develop unmanned aviation business opportunities in Ireland, as part of a collaborative research project that could help modernise air traffic management in Europe.

The consortium said the funding will help build an “end-to-end ecosystem” that supports the safe operation of unmanned flights. The goal is to help integrate the operations of both unmanned and conventional aircraft.

“This will result in developing and building-out the critical infrastructure to allow advanced air mobility proliferate across Europe,” FMCI CEO Russell Vickers said. “It will secure access to airspace for large numbers of drones and eVTOL aircraft, resulting in safe, cost-effective and sustainable transport of freight and people in the future.”

The project’s work will be based at FMCI’s Advanced Aerial Mobility Research Test and Development Facilities at Shannon, but will include a network of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) routes across Ireland.

FMCI has also worked with Avtrain and Shannon Group to trial freight delivery services using beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drones.

“We are entering a new era of innovation where the success of the industry will depend on the integration of unmanned aircraft into our airspace, rather than the segregation of airspace,” Avtrain CEO Julie Garland said.

Funding for the project came from the SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking, which is partnership of private and public-sector entities that aim to accelerate the delivery of the Digital European Sky through research and innovation.

Projects around the world are taking place to show the various applications of drones and unmanned flight technology.

Earlier this month, a Dublin City Council initiative took place to show how local government can utilise drones in areas such as civil defence, emergency response, public safety and environmental monitoring.

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