On the 30^th of November, the Future Needs team had the pleasure to attend the #EUDroneDays.

During this SESAR 3 JU U-space Showcase event, the results of the SESAR 2020 programme of U-space research and demonstration projects were presented, including both our projects SAFIR-Med and #BURDI. The audience had the opportunity to find out more details about the projects visiting the dedicated booths and discussing with the partners.

The #EUDroneDays event highlighted the need for research and exploratory projects and gave us insights on a number of demonstration projects that have been implemented. Great focus was given to the importance of a solid and mature concept of operations  that benefits from the results of the presented projects and showcases the essence of all stakeholders working together. A further discussion was made on how new developments in the aviation sector might interface with existing air traffic management and manned aviation (civil and military). One of the main highlights was the presentation of the EU Drone Strategy 2.0 where we got a glimpse of what the drone sector would look like in the future, from a European perspective. Last but not least, a sneak preview of the first U-space program to be undertaken under SESAR was presented.

This event gave us the opportunity to connect and exchange points of view with actors in industry, academia and regulatory authorities and discuss the progress being made through our projects towards making U-space a reality in Europe.