DAEDALUS kicks off: building dynamic altitude-enhanced airspace layers

The DAEDALUS project officially kicked off on 15 March 2026, bringing together a consortium of leading European organisations in U-space research, air traffic management, and drone technology.

What is DAEDALUS?

DAEDALUS — Dynamic Altitude-Enhanced Airspace Layerin for U-Space — aims to solve a fundamental challenge in drone traffic management: how to safely and efficiently use the vertical dimension of low-level airspace.

Today, drone operations are largely confined to fixed altitude bands or require complex deconfliction. DAEDALUS will develop a real-time engine that dynamically assigns vertical layers based on traffic density, mission profiles, and uncertainty quantification.

The consortium

The project brings together partners from across Europe, combining expertise in:

• Airspace design and U-space services
• GNSS navigation integrity and security
• Onboard hardware for altitude accuracy
• Formal methods for uncertainty quantification

Next steps

The first work package will focus on defining operational scenarios and use cases, with validation campaigns planned across four European countries.