5. Deployment priorities

This chapter focuses on deployment priorities for Europe, introducing the strategic deployment objectives (SDOs). SDOs are prioritised actions (also referred to as essential operational changes (1)), that need to be rolled out between 2025 and 2035. These actions are critical for achieving the vision and performance ambitions and are based on SESAR Solutions either already delivered (having reached technology readiness level (TRL) 6 (2)) or in the pipeline (expected to reach TRL 6 before the end of 2026).

The SDOs were selected following a prioritisation process that evaluated the relevance and readiness of the supporting SESAR Solutions. The selection was then based on four criteria: the critical role they can play in addressing climate-neutral aviation, capacity and scalability, safety criticality and the uptake of innovative air mobility.

For ATM stakeholders wishing to make local investment decisions on other SESAR Solutions delivered, the full list is available at www.sesarju.eu/catalogue.

As a result, the 10 SDOs presented in Figure 12 provide the basis to trigger accelerated market uptake of SESAR Solutions by a critical mass of early movers and to support the updating of the regulatory framework (3). They look beyond the ATM functionalities (AF) already covered by CP1 (4). Completing the implementation of CP1 is essential to secure the transition to trajectory-based operations (TBO) covered by SDO 5.

Figure 12: Strategic deployment objectives looking beyond CP1

Figure 12: Strategic deployment objectives looking beyond CP1

In the following sections, each SDO is defined, along with the corresponding required deployment actions (the ‘what’), the targeted stakeholders (the ‘who’ (5)) and the operating environments (the ‘where’).


(1)          ‘“Essential operational change” means an air traffic management (ATM) operational change that provides significant network performance improvements to the operational stakeholders, as referred to in the ATM Master Plan’ (Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 409/2013 of 3 May 2013 on the definition of common projects, the establishment of governance and the identification of incentives supporting the implementation of the European Air Traffic Management Master Plan, OJ L 123, 4.5.2013, p. 1); see Section A.9.1.

(2)          In the Digital European Sky programme, the TRLs are as follows: exploratory research (TRLs 0–2), industrial research and validation (TRLs 3–6), fast-track innovation and uptake (TRLs 2–7) and Digital Sky Demonstrators (TRLs 7 and 8). SESAR Solutions reaching TRL 6 have undergone industrial research, have been validated and are ready for deployment (first industrialisation, followed by implementation).

(4)          Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/116 of 1 February 2021 on the establishment of the common project one supporting the implementation of the European Air Traffic Management Master Plan provided for in Regulation (EC) No 550/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council, amending Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 409/2013 and repealing Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 716/2014, OJ L 36, 2.2.2021, p. 10.

(5)          ANSPs, airspace users, airport operators, the NM, U-space service providers, common information service providers, drone/UAS operators, vertiport operators, the military.

ATM modernisation is a global effort and requires continued cooperation with ICAO and other regions of the world. Section A.8 maps the alignment of the Master Plan with the global air navigation plan (GANP) and flags those activities with a global interoperability dimension that may require ICAO adaptations. Further details on roadmaps are given in the Appendix (Sections A.1–A.6). Details on the content of each SDO (e.g. supporting SESAR Solutions, reference period for starting investment and links to essential operational changes in the previous edition of the Master Plan) are published on the SESAR 3 JU website