Operation_Zenith

Operation Zenith

Operation Zenith

Demonstration of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and Air Traffic Management (ATM) in 2018


Operation Zenith was a demonstration of UAV (commonly known as drones) and ATM integration held at Manchester Airport on November 21, 2018.[1] The event aimed to illustrate that "drones can be flown safely alongside manned aircraft in controlled airspace".[2] A total of eight scenarios[3] were demonstrated in real-time,[4] including On Airfield Delivery,[5] Beyond Visual Line-Of-Sight (BVLOS) Infrastructure Inspection,[6] and Commercial VLOS Operations.[7]

The event was coordinated by Air Navigation Service Provider for the United Kingdom, NATS,[8] and British Tech Start-Up, Altitude Angel.[9] A total of 13 independent organisations also took part in the event as "delivery partners",[10] including Vodafone,[11] DJI[12] and Frequentis.[13]

It is regarded as one of the first live demonstrations of its kind[14][15] and was considered to be the "most technically complex and comprehensive demonstration in the world so far of an UTM (Unmanned aircraft system traffic management) system".[16]

In August 2019, Operation Zenith was a finalist in the CANSO Award of Excellence in ATM.[17]


References

  1. "Operation Zenith". Altitude Angel. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  2. "UK-first as drones fly safely in controlled airspace". NATS. 2018-11-23. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  3. "Scenario 1". Operation Zenith. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  4. "Scenario 3". Operation Zenith. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  5. "Scenario 5". Operation Zenith. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  6. "Call for new technology to ensure drone safety". Financial Times. 22 November 2018.
  7. "About - Operation Zenith - Powered By GUARDIAN UTM". Operation Zenith. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  8. "Showing a new side of Vodafone Business at CES 2019". www.vodafone.com. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  9. Press (2018-11-23). "Aviation partnership takes to the skies in UK-first to fly drones safely in controlled airspace". sUAS News - The Business of Drones. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  10. Butterworth-Hayes, Philip (2018-11-22). "Operation Zenith provides landmark demonstration of UTM technology capabilities". Unmanned airspace. Retrieved 2020-06-26.

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