A new analysis commissioned by Airservices predicts that drone flights in Australia will surge from around 1.5 million currently to more than 60 million by 2043, requiring the latest technologies to manage the significant increase in air traffic.
Frequentis has been selected to develop a Flight Information Management System (FIMS) that will enable Airservices to seamlessly incorporate drones, air taxis and other uncrewed aircraft into Australian airspace.
The FIMS will be at the core of Australia’s Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Traffic Management (UTM) ecosystem. It will enable Airservices to share flight information between air traffic control, traditional aircraft, and uncrewed airspace users. Frequentis was chosen after a comprehensive selection process, which included prototype development and in-field trials.
Jason Harfield, Airservices Australia chief executive officer, said the new system would support the safe integration of current and future air traffic with the rapid growth of uncrewed aircraft. “Drones are the biggest growth area in aviation and our partnership with Frequentis to develop an FIMS will enable us to integrate traditional and new airspace users into increasingly busy airspace,” he said.
“With Frequentis, we will develop a FIMS that meets the needs of Australian airspace users and ensures we can safely integrate millions of drone flights with other users. I’m confident the new FIMS will encourage the growing drone market to reach its full potential in Australia.”
