EU-Wide Advantages & Opportunities for the Grant “Transition towards high performance of air-ground connectivity (multilink)”

1. Overview

The HORIZON-SESAR call acts as a strategic lever to modernise European Air Traffic Management (ATM) through next-generation multilink communications, digital voice and aircraft-as-sensor concepts. Implementing these innovations at EU level multiplies technological, economic and societal benefits that cannot be achieved by isolated national efforts.

2. Single Market Access (450 + million citizens)

• Pan-European certification and uptake: Solutions validated under a SESAR JU action can be fast-tracked for European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) approval, unlocking simultaneous market entry in all 27 Member States plus EEA/EFTA.

• Fleet-wide retro-fit/line-fit market: Over 8,600 commercial aircraft are registered in the EU. A harmonised multilink standard creates one large home market, de-risking industrialisation costs for avionics, satcom and 5G airborne terminals.

• Downstream data services: EU-wide MET and trajectory-optimisation services enabled by “aircraft as a sensor” feed a single digital services market worth an estimated €1.2 bn/year by 2030.

3. Cross-Border Collaboration

• Test-bed diversity: Access to a mosaic of airspaces (oceanic, high-density core area, mountainous) supports representative flight trials required to reach TRL 6.

• Complementary expertise: Combine satellite operators from FR/IT (ESOA, IRIS), telecom MNOs from DE/NL, avionics OEMs from FR/ES, ANSPs from SE/PL, military spectrum authorities, and cybersecurity labs from EE/FI.

• Interoperability by design: Joint development avoids post-project interface “patching” and facilitates ICAO global standard proposals originating from a united EU block.

4. Alignment with EU Policies

• European Green Deal & ‘Fit-for-55’:

• Precise humidity/contrail data supports non-CO₂ climate measures (potentially −25 Mt CO₂e/yr).

• Hyper-connected ATM enables 4D-trajectory optimisation reducing fuel burn (−1.8 % fleet wide).

• Digital Europe & Europe’s Path to the Digital Decade:

• Positions EU as first region to integrate 5G/6G non-safety links into certified cockpit communication.

• Contributes to EU target of 75 % of companies using cloud/AI/big-data by 2030 via SWIM-enabled data fusion services.

• Strategic Compass & EU Space Strategy: Strengthens sovereign, dual-use L-band/Ka-band capabilities and military-civil spectrum coexistence.

5. Regulatory Harmonisation Benefits

• Single regulatory interface: One EASA ETSO & ETSI harmonised standard rather than 27 national approvals.

• Spectrum planning: Coordinated EU approach to L-band and 5G Aero NR allocations minimises cross-border interference and litigation.

• Cybersecurity baseline: Alignment with EU NIS2 & Cyber-Resilience Act ensures cross-border continuity of safety-critical data links.

6. Access to Europe’s Innovation Ecosystem

• SESAR 3 JU & Clean Aviation synergies provide shared simulation platforms (e.g., EUROCONTROL NM B2B, DLR ATN/IPS labs).

• Research talent pool: 5,000+ researchers in 300 EU aerospace labs; Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions and EIT Digital can fund secondments.

• Standardisation gateways: Direct channels to EUROCAE, ETSI, 3GPP and ESA-backed IRIS² programme accelerate global uptake.

7. Funding Synergies

• CEF2 Transport / SESAR Deployment Manager: Up to 50 % co-funding for ground infrastructure that implements project outputs (e.g., LDACS ground stations).

• Digital Europe Programme: Supports cybersecurity test-beds for multilink resilience.

• InvestEU & EIB Green Loan: Commercial scaling of certified avionics with favourable financing.

• EDF (European Defence Fund): Co-development of dual-use secure waveforms and crypto modules ensuring civil-military interoperability.

8. Scale & Impact Potential

• EU-wide deployment roadmap: Harmonised specs allow synchronous retrofit windows during heavy-maintenance cycles across European fleets.

• Global leadership: Early EU demonstration of hyper-connected multilink offers first-mover advantage in ICAO and export markets.

• Economic boost: Studies estimate €7–10 bn NPV over 20 years from reduced delays, fuel savings and service revenues.

9. Actionable Opportunities for Applicants

1. Form a Minimum-Viable Consortium spanning the whole value chain: avionics OEM, satcom provider, ANSP, airline, MNO, cyber-security SME, meteorological service and research institute from at least 6-8 Member States.

2. Lock-in deployment funding early: Liaise with CEF2/SDM to earmark grants for LDACS ground roll-out that will follow TRL 6 demonstration.

3. Exploit living labs: Apply for flight trial slots in EUROCONTROL’s Maastricht Upper Area Centre (MUAC) cross-border airspace or FABEC to test multilink hand-over across ANSP boundaries.

4. Align with ESA IRIS²: Integrate Ka-band safety services work packages to leverage in-kind satellite capacity.

5. Prepare standardisation contribution: Budget for participation in EUROCAE WG-76, WG-82 and 3GPP to secure European technical leadership.

10. Key Takeaway

Running the project under an EU umbrella transforms isolated technological upgrades into a coherent, market-ready, standardised communication ecosystem—delivering environmental, operational and industrial competitiveness gains on a continental scale that no single country could match alone.