Airbus Protect selected as a trusted partner for EASA’s future airspace initiative.
Reinforcing our long-standing commitment to European institutional excellence, Airbus Protect, has secured a landmark tender with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). By delivering critical expertise to shape the regulatory foundations of the EU’s aeronautical future, our specialists are spearheading the integration of safety, cybersecurity, and sustainability standards to ensure the resilience of the European aviation ecosystem.
Leading a high-profile consortium alongside Deep Blue and the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), Airbus Protect will provide scientific foundation and risk-driven insights required to regulate “Higher Airspace Operations” (HAO). This quasi-virgin territory, located above FL550, is quickly becoming a hub for next-generation technology, from slow-moving High Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS) to high-speed hypersonic aircraft. To meet this challenge, we are deploying an integrated strategy where our three core pillars operate in total harmony.
In the realm of safety, our teams are developing specialised “Target Levels of Safety” and performing rigorous risk assessments to ensure that operation of these novel vehicles happens in a safety continuum with classical airspace users. This work goes hand-in-hand with building robust cybersecurity resilience, where we define the critical security requirements and risk methodologies to protect HAO assets from evolving digital threats. Simultaneously, our sustainability experts are conducting in-depth impact assessments on CO2 and non-CO2 atmospheric effects of HAO to ensure innovation remains aligned with Europe’s ambitious environmental goals.
Through this partnership, Airbus Protect will provide EASA with concrete regulatory framework proposals, ensuring the European sky remains safe, secure, sustainable, and at the global forefront of aerospace innovation.
Further information can be obtained from the EASA project website.
