High Lander, a provider of drone fleet management and unmanned traffic management solutions, will join a consortium of Canadian partners led by Variable Pitch Inc., a Toronto-based aviation consulting and services company, to execute demonstrations of unmanned traffic management (UTM) technology for Phase 2 of Transport Canada and NAV CANADA’s RPAS traffic management (RTM) services project.
The initiative is focused on RTM technology over suburban airspaces and will enable Transport Canada and NAV CANADA, Canada’s aviation regulator and air navigation service provider respectively, to move theory into practice and lay the foundation for the future of large-scale drone operations across Canada.
The consortium will use High Lander’s Orion drone fleet management platform to execute a variety of drone operations using drones supplied by Speedbird Aero and Indro Robotics, including medical supply delivery, infrastructure inspection and emergency response. These operations will be overseen by High Lander’s Vega UTM platform which will demonstrate services including flight plan approvals and departure authorizations, telemetry and conformance monitoring, conflict detection and resolution, airspace capacity management and a NOTAM messaging service. Vega UTM’s capabilities will be supplemented by Accipiter Radar’s advanced detection systems, Viasat/Inmarsat’s global communications network and TruWeather’s precise weather forecasting, creating an end-to-end RTM system designed to address Canada’s unique airspace challenges and operational needs.
Alon Abelson, CEO and co-founder of High Lander, commented: “The Canadian drone ecosystem is one of the world’s fastest-growing and dynamic – we’re proud that Vega UTM was selected to help Transport Canada and NAV CANADA investigate technology capable of managing all this traffic and enabling a thriving drone ecosystem nationwide.”
The first phase of the project ran from 2020 to 2022 and enabled Transport Canada and NAV CANADA to finalize their national drone strategy. The strategy recognizes that drones are part of the future of transportation in the country and outlines a commitment to creating a drone traffic management system across urban areas of the country by 2025. Phase 2 of the project will bring the country closer to making this a reality.
“As advancements in drone technology continue to redefine aviation, air traffic management must also evolve for the safe and successful integration of RPAS into Canadian airspace,” said Ryan Coates, Executive Director of the RPAS Task Force at Transport Canada. “Continued collaboration between industry, the ANSP and government will help us understand the capabilities and limitations of state-of-the-art technologies and provide vital information for developing sound safety rules and regulations.”
Variable Pitch created the consortium of service providers to deliver cutting-edge RPAS Traffic Management solutions tailored to the unique challenges of Canadian airspace. It chose Vega UTM as the RTM service provider because it’s a robust and scalable system that meets the stringent requirements set forth by Transport Canada and NAV CANADA’s Concept of Operations.
“Our team is committed to delivering a transformative RPAS Traffic Management system that not only meets but sets new standards for safety and performance,” said Richard Brown, COO of Variable Pitch. “With the combined expertise of our partners and the backing of local government, we are confident that our work in Ontario will provide a blueprint for a national RTM framework.”
