Thales selected for Finland’s Technical Research Centre’s (VTT) U-Space Pilot

• Thales will provide VTT (Technical Research Centre of Finland) with its next generation Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) system, enabling airspace management for unmanned aircraft in compliance with European regulatory standards.
• Thales’s Topsky - AstraUTM will provide a scalable, automated platform for Finland’s Drolo 2 research and innovation initiative for U-Space airspace management.

Thales has been awarded a landmark contract by Finland’s VTT to provide its advanced UTM solution, TopSky – AstraUTM, as a first step of an ambitious programme to enable safe and efficient air mobility operations across Finland. The contract will include services such as UAS flight authorization, geo-awareness and network identification, and traffic information services, ensuring seamless and secure drone operations in compliance with EU Regulation 2021/664.

The U-Space Finland¹ Precommercial Pilot Implementation project, part of VTT’s Drolo 2 Project, aims to develop and deploy automated, secure, scalable drone systems, products and services. This will support a wide range of drone applications, including logistics, agriculture, forestry, airport and construction operations. Additionally, the project seeks to establish a robust Finnish Drolo innovation and business ecosystem which will accelerate development and secure a competitive edge in the drone industry. The aim is that U-Space services, within european regulations, can be launched, tested and piloted in Finland making it the first or one of the first countries to do so.

The Living Lab test environment based in the Oulu region of Finland, as part of the Drolo project, is ideal in many ways, as it combines piloting with various service needs and flight environments, such as a medium-sized international airport, seaport, inhabited island, medium-sized city center and a 5G development centre.

This initiative marks a key milestone in the integration of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into Finnish airspace, ensuring operations are conducted safely, efficiently, and in full compliance with EU regulations.VTT needed a scalable, cloud-based U-Space system for research and operations, and TopSky-AstraUTM delivers real-time traffic management, compliance monitoring, and safe integration of unmanned and manned flights, with added weather services for enhanced safety and decision-making.

This collaboration with Thales marks an important step in Finland’s journey to establish a robust and efficient U-Space framework. By leveraging Thales’s expertise and technology, we aim to test a safe, scalable, and innovative environment for unmanned aviation operations, positioning Finland at the forefront of U-Space adoption and airspace innovation"
​Timo Lind, Principal Scientist and Chief Drone Pilot at VTT.

We are honored to collaborate with VTT in advancing U-Space integration in Finland. This award underscores Thales’s leadership in delivering advanced UTM solutions that are compliant with the most rigorous safety and regulatory standards. Our solution will empower Finland’s drone operators to unlock the full potential of UAS technology, while maintaining the highest safety and security standards"
​Jeremy Hooper, Vice-President Air Traffic Control and Digital, Thales.

¹U-Space Finland refers to a set of regulatory frameworks and technological solutions designed to support the safe and efficient integration of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, into the airspace. This concept is part of a broader initiative in Europe aiming to facilitate drone operations, particularly in urban areas and for various applications such as delivery services, emergency response, and surveillance.