What is the added value of being a member of the SESAR 3 JU?

At Indra, we’ve always believed in the need for an initiative such as SESAR, which provides a space for cross-cutting public-private cooperation to overcome challenges that go beyond the borders or the capacity of a single organisation.

Moreover, thanks to well-focused innovation based on technology platforms such as iTEC SkyNex, the SESAR JU is accelerating the development of new technologies that have been already deployed in real projects or exported worldwide.

We currently have the opportunity to strengthen the collaborative spirit of the programme so as to achieve more digital, connected, accessible and environmentally-friendly air traffic with higher levels of automation and to overcome air traffic fragmentation in Europe.

The alignment with the iTEC SkyNex interests and priorities is of the essence to harness the provision of services employing digital technologies.

We’re confident that, through the different phases of the ATM innovation cycle, the Digital Sky Demonstrators and the update of the European ATM Master Plan, we’ll achieve tangible results to build a single Digital European Sky.

Why is air traffic management and its digital transformation important to Indra?

For a global ATM company like Indra, it is essential to lead the digital transformation of the sector, being involved in the major SESAR projects and more importantly bringing these new technologies to the market.

On the side of the innovation, Indra is playing again a key role in SESAR research and innovation, participating in 23 projects and leading four of them.

On the side of the deployment, Indra technologies make possible to deliver the last generation digital towers, U-space platforms or space-based CNS solutions. Indra is committed to the latest technologies such as iTEC SkyNex that (besides the whole NavCanada airspace) is going to manage more than 60% of the air traffic in Europe, helping make the Digital European Sky a reality.

What are Indra’s top three innovation priorities?

The implementation of automation systems based on virtualisation technologies will transform air traffic control centres, facilitating higher levels of interoperability and more efficient workload distribution, developing the virtual centre concept. They will also increase the resilience of the whole ATM network, as well as strengthen cybersecurity in order to prevent new threats and thus maintain the high levels of aviation security that have been achieved.

Artificial intelligence will facilitate new applications to increase airspace capacity and provide greater degrees of accuracy and predictability, thus ensuring safe traffic management. At Indra, we are incorporating its use into advanced systems, such as the Network Manager, which is involved in the coordination of operations with 68 control centres and more than 400 airports on the continent.

Numerous other technologies will be critical, ranging from digital communications systems and drone traffic management platforms to the deployment of satellite communications and surveillance constellations to manage traffic in oceanic and remote areas.

In which flagships of the Digital European Sky programme is Indra particularly interested in getting involved, and why?

As a global technology provider, we offer our customers an integrated portfolio that fully meets their needs. Our leadership obliges us to excel in many flagship projects, so choosing one would be difficult.

The increase in traffic in the wake of the pandemic has highlighted the need to take action. This is why we’re committed to next-generation systems such as iTEC SkyNex, which allow us to integrate the advances in automation, digitalisation, virtualisation and cybersecurity into global platforms to shorten the development cycle to deploy innovative technological solutions at a faster pace. For this reason, Indra is leading the SESAR projects that correspond to the connected and automated ATM (iSNAP project), and virtualisation and cyber-secure data sharing (VITACY) flagships.

These platforms must also enable our customers to decouple the layers that make up the provision of their services to secure more efficient and sustainable use of resources. For example, our remote digital tower, U-space (leading ENSURE project) and satellite CNS solutions, through Startical, will allow our customers to improve their capabilities and gain access to new services for new airspace users.