On the initiative of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Hristo Alexiev, under the leadership of Deputy Minister Nikolay Naydenov and together with the DG Civil Aviation Administration, a Working Group was formed to establish a mechanism for coordinating the configuration of U-space air space. U-space is the European system being developed for unmanned drone traffic management. It is a set of specific digital services and procedures designed to provide drone operators with safe and efficient access to airspace.
Airspace U-space is a geographic area for drones designated by each member state. U-space is being rolled out gradually across Europe due to the growing need for unmanned traffic management services and technologies. As with manned aviation, drone operators and U-space service providers will have to comply with regulations set by EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency). The European regulatory framework and the first U-space regulations, adopted by the European Commission in 2021, enter into force in January 2023 and will promote a harmonized approach to the deployment of U-space.
Some of the activities that can be carried out with the help of drones are mapping, infrastructure inspections, precision agriculture, delivery of goods, e-commerce and others. The goal of U-space is to achieve automated control of drones, allowing for a large number of operations, many of them simultaneous. The process must be integrated with the current air traffic management system.
The first step is to define and label the U-spaces. U-space services are provided by U-space service providers. Unlike the provision of air traffic services, where only one provider is responsible for a certain volume of airspace, a single U-space airspace may have multiple providers serving it.
A Draft Ordinance on the terms and conditions for the operation of unmanned aircraft systems and the supervision of their operators has been prepared, which is to be signed by the Minister of Transport and Communications.