LYON—Under a project led by Eurocontrol, a consortium of major players in the European industry has delivered a concept of operations that may pave the way for future higher-airspace operations, above 60,000 ft.
The ECHO project started in 2019 and its relevance was strengthened when a Chinese spy balloon was detected and shot down above U.S. territory early in 2023. The concept of operations may be the basis for traffic management and regulation in the higher airspace, where long-endurance balloons, slow-moving observation and telecommunications platforms and suborbital hypersonic vehicles are expected to proliferate.
Due to their global nature, overseeing such operations may be complex. However, whether a significant number of those vehicles will enter into service one day has yet to be demonstrated and the ongoing preparation work may prove useless.
In addition to Eurocontrol, the ECHO project has gathered satellite manufacturer Thales Alenia Space—which is promoting the idea of a multipurpose high-altitude airship; aerospace research centers DLR (Germany), Onera (France), and CIRA (Italy); air navigation service providers ENAC (Italy), ENAV (Spain) and DSNA (France); airframers Dassault Aviation and Airbus; and French aviation engineering and flying school ENAC. They collaborated with new entrants such as would-be hypersonic aircraft manufacturer Destinus. The study took place under the umbrella of the SESAR joint undertaking, which specializes in air traffic management research in Europe.
The concept of operations may support future operational roles, responsibilities, procedures and infrastructure, the partners say. “This will feed into work about to start within ICAO on higher-airspace operations, and will help ensure a global harmonized approach,” said Henk Hof, ECHO project coordinator for Eurocontrol.
The concept of operations was designed within the current framework of state roles and prerogatives. “It is expected that the main principles for maintaining state security and air defense in higher airspace will be in line ... with the current measures,” the partners say. “New entrants may bring new challenges and require further adaptations of both air traffic management and military systems.”
The concept addresses the central issue of transits from and to the Earth’s surface. “While some vehicles will remain in the higher airspace for the entirety of their mission, others will rapidly transit ... requiring coordination with future space traffic management.”
Deconfliction may involve pre-flight agreements, as well as tactical monitoring and traffic control. New means will be needed for communication, navigation, and surveillance. In case of a non-nominal event, i.e., an uncontrolled deviation of the vehicle, higher-airspace users may be trained to react quickly and move their own vehicles away.
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