EU-Wide Advantages and Opportunities under HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03-WA1-4

1. Single Market Access (450+ million citizens & 27 Member States)

• Pan-European scope of SESAR RIA actions allows project outcomes (e.g. novel AI trajectory-optimisation algorithms or dynamic airspace concepts) to be validated against a homogeneous set of operational requirements, accelerating adoption in all ANSPs and U-space service providers across the Single European Sky (SES).

• Uniform certification pathways via EASA and SESAR enable faster time-to-market than negotiating 27 separate national approvals, letting beneficiaries commercialise ATM/U-space innovations EU-wide in one go.

• Public procurement directives (e.g. Green Public Procurement, PCP/PPI) create a consolidated customer base of airports, ANSPs, drone operators and defence authorities—multiplying revenue potential once the research matures beyond TRL4.

2. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange

• Mandatory multi-country consortia unlock complementary expertise—e.g. Nordic strengths in remote tower operations, Central-European AI labs, Southern drone-integration test ranges—forming unique, world-class research clusters.

• Access to SESAR’s 3,000+ expert pool and the ATM Master Plan architecture ensures systematic dissemination of findings through EUROCONTROL, the Network Manager and FABs (Functional Airspace Blocks), increasing scientific impact.

• Shared use of pan-European research infrastructures (DARTeC-UK, ONERA-France, DLR-Germany, NLR-Netherlands, ENAC labs, etc.) lowers individual partner costs and speeds up validation campaigns.

3. Alignment with Flagship EU Policies

• Green Deal Fit for 55: Trajectory optimisation & dynamic airspace directly contribute to CO₂ reduction targets (-10% gate-to-gate fuel burn potential), reinforcing EU climate leadership.

• Digital Europe & Data Spaces: The call’s focus on big-data handling and trusted sharing dovetails with the European Common Aviation Data Space (CADS) initiative and GAIA-X principles.

• Strategic Compass & Civil–Military Synergy: Research addressing secure information exchange for military flights aligns with EU defence cooperation goals while preserving sovereignty.

4. Regulatory Harmonisation & Standard Setting

• SESAR JU research feeds directly into EUROCAE/RTCA standards, EASA rulemaking tasks (RMTs) and ICAO’s GANP—giving beneficiaries first-mover insight and influence over future regulations.

• A single EU legal framework for U-space (Reg. 2021/664) lets consortia test breakthrough concepts such as AI-driven separation management or vertiport integration in multiple Member States under harmonised rules, derisking cross-border operations.

5. Integration into Europe’s Innovation Ecosystem

• Synergies with Digital Innovation Hubs, KICs (EIT Urban Mobility, EIT Digital) and Clean Aviation JU open doors to additional testbeds, venture capital and scale-up networks.

• Open science mandates (Horizon Europe) ensure wide visibility of datasets and algorithms, fostering citation, follow-up projects and talent attraction from the ERA and associated countries (e.g., Norway, Switzerland, Israel).

6. Funding Synergies & Leverage

• Stackable with Connecting Europe Facility (CEF-Transport) for large-scale CNS infrastructure pilots, and with ERDF/Interreg funding for regional drone corridors—maximising CAPEX coverage once concepts reach higher TRLs.

• Compatibility with European Defence Fund (EDF) topics on secure communications enables dual-use spin-offs without breaching state-aid rules.

• Lump-sum model minimises administrative burden and provides budget certainty, facilitating co-funding deals with national innovation agencies.

7. EU-Scale Deployment & Impact Potential

• Research aligned with the five transformation levers is pre-integrated into the ATM Master Plan Level 4, guaranteeing a clear pathway to SES rollout by 2040.

• Demonstrated scalability across diverse traffic densities—from sparse Baltic FIRs to congested Core Area—strengthens the business case for export to non-EU ANSPs via SESAR Solutions Catalogue.

• Improved civil-military interoperability enhances Europe’s strategic autonomy and bolsters NATO/EU joint operations, raising the geopolitical value of project outcomes.

8. Strategic Value Over National-Level Schemes

• Access to larger work-programme budgets (€€) and higher funding rates (100% for RIA) versus many domestic schemes.

• EU brand recognition and rigorous peer review increase credibility with global regulators (FAA, CAAC) and investors.

• Freedom of movement for researchers (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Charter) facilitates secondments and joint PhDs, strengthening human-capital pipelines.

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Leveraging these EU-wide advantages, applicants can craft high-impact proposals that not only advance fundamental ATM/U-space science but also position Europe as the global benchmark for safe, green and automated air traffic management.