The number of drones in Norway has been rapidly growing and a key challenge has been the lack of realtime information to alert emergency helicopters of the location of drones, leading to increased workload to avoid them.
According to the Norwegian Air Ambulance, medical helicopters often need to fly outside of controlled airspace and, in the event of accidents or search and rescue, must be able to land almost anywhere. They also note that inquisitive drone pilots tend to show up at the same types of event and collisions between the two would be serious. The ability for both parties to see each other and be alerted to potential collisions was therefore clear for drones and rescue helicopters to safely share the sky.
Now, thanks to a collaboration between Avinor, the Norwegian air navigation service provider (ANSP), the Norwegian Air Ambulance and Frequentis, drone and helicopter collisions in Norway can be avoided. This is thanks to data sharing between the Norwegian Air Ambulance pilot system, drone pilot system and Avinor’s uncrewed traffic management (UTM) system.
Data sharing opens doors
The Norwegian Air Ambulance uses a system called HemsWX to provide helicopter pilots with detailed weather reports and video images from a network of cameras placed all over Norway. This information is displayed directly in the cockpit of the helicopter in real-time.
The solution to drone avoidance is the Ninox Drone app and the Avinor UTMsystem, implemented by Frequentis. Every month, Avinor receives between 500 to 1,000 requests for drone flights via the Ninox Drone app, which are then distributed to HemsWX and visualised for the helicopter pilots. This is made possible by a complex UTM set-up, where a common information system (CIS) distributes information to third parties such as HemsWX.
The Frequentis UTM system enables the safe and efficient integration of drones into the airspace with a seamless information exchange between all stakeholders. On the air traffic control side, the UTM Airspace Manager application is used by ATCOs to manage drone traffic within their area of responsibility.
The successful integration of drones into the regular airspace in Norway has improved airspace visualisation for police and emergency helicopters, enabling them to respond more quickly to emergencies and other high-priority tasks without the added workload required to look for drones. This has had a positive impact on public safety and overall efficiency.
Successfully demonstrating the potential for drones to be safely and effectively integrated into traditional aviation environments has opened the door for further innovation and development of use cases for drones in aviation. This has the potential to bring significant benefits to the industry as a whole.
A successful partnership
Frequentis and Avinor began collaborating on a solution to support the safe growth of Norway’s drone market in 2020, inaugurating a project to roll out a UTM system to 17 airports across Norway.
The Frequentis MosaiX SWIM is the backbone for the integration of UTM and ATM and other third-party services. It supports seamless information exchange between all stakeholders and connects various domains to the UTM network. In addition to enhancing safety, the UTM system will enable ANSPs to secure new revenue streams in the future.
The drone warning system was first put into operation in June 2022 and was tested among selected users. In March 2023, the project was given the Overall Excellence ATM Award at the Airspace World event in Geneva. The awards, in co-operation with Air Traffic Management magazine and CANSO, took the opinions of judges from various industry sectors to make their decision.
This innovative solution to streamline both ATM and UTM is the first step to showing manned aviation where unmanned aviation is located and is just the first use case where data is shared with a third party. As the industry continues to develop real-time situational awareness, there will be many more to come.
Article originally published in Air Traffic Management magazine, issue 2, 2023. Want to receive all of the latest stories as soon as they are published? Register now for your free digital subscription.
Image: Norwegian Air Ambulance (NLA) operates from Evenes in Northern Norway. Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation
