18 June 2019
NLR has partnered with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) to develop the procedures needed to safely and efficiently integrate Medium Altitude, Long Endurance (MALE) Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) into European Airspace. The first phase of this collaboration culminated on 28-29 May 2019 during which a large-scale simulation exercise was performed at the Amsterdam campus of NLR. The goal of this exercise was to test the first version of the MALE RPA airspace integration procedures, and involved experienced civil Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs), as well as licenced airliner and RPA pilots. The exercise considered operations from Rotterdam The Hague Airport (EHRD), a civil airport in the Netherlands, and made use of a simulated MQ-9B SkyGuardian MALE RPA, an RPA that is designed and manufactured by GA-ASI.