US aerospace giant contributing avionics, GNSS navigation, and icing detection expertise to Europe's SESAR air traffic management modernization program.
Honeywell is a major US-based aerospace and industrial technology conglomerate that contributes avionics, navigation, and safety systems expertise to European air traffic management (ATM) research. Within H2020, they primarily supply flight technology components — GNSS-based landing systems, icing detection sensors, surface surveillance alerts, and communication/navigation infrastructure — to SESAR Joint Undertaking projects modernizing Europe's airspace. Their involvement spans the full ATM stack from runway safety nets and departure management to 4D trajectory operations and drone integration into controlled airspace.
Core contributor across 16 SESAR projects including PJ02 EARTH (runway throughput), PJ14 EECNS (communication/navigation), PJ01 EAD (arrivals/departures), and PJ31 DIGITS (trajectory sharing).
Contributed GBAS CAT II/III capabilities in VLD1-W2 DREAMS, curved approach technologies in PJ02-W2 AART, and GBAS multilink in PJ14-W2 I-CNSS.
International partner in SENS4ICE for supercooled large droplet icing detection; contributed to VLD2-W2 STAIRS for runway incursion alerts and PJ03b SAFE for airport safety nets.
Participated in PJ13-W2 ERICA for RPAS insertion in controlled airspace and Uspace4UAM for urban air mobility and flying taxi operations.
Contributed to ALBATROSS focused on flight efficiency and CO2 emission reduction through green trajectory optimization.
In the early period (2016–2018), Honeywell's involvement centered on foundational ATM infrastructure: airport surface management, departure sequencing, runway throughput, and communication/navigation/surveillance systems across multiple first-wave SESAR projects. They also participated in PICASSO, an ICT policy project on EU-US technology collaboration. From 2019 onward, their focus shifted decisively toward operational safety (icing detection, runway incursion prevention), satellite-based precision approaches (GBAS CAT II/III), and new mobility domains including RPAS integration and urban air mobility.
Honeywell is moving from core ATM plumbing toward safety-critical flight systems and new airspace users (drones, urban air mobility), signaling readiness for next-generation airspace projects.
Honeywell participates almost exclusively as a third party (21 of 22 projects), meaning they are brought in by consortium members for specific technology contributions rather than leading or formally partnering. This is typical for a large US-based company engaging in EU-funded research — they provide proprietary avionics and systems expertise without taking on project management or EU grant administration. With 155 unique partners across 29 countries, they function as a widely-connected technology supplier embedded in Europe's ATM research ecosystem.
Honeywell has worked with 155 unique partners across 29 countries, reflecting the broad, multi-national structure of SESAR Joint Undertaking consortia. Their network is heavily concentrated in European aviation authorities, ANSPs, and aerospace companies despite being a US-headquartered organization.
Honeywell brings something few European partners can: a vertically integrated aerospace OEM's perspective on avionics, sensors, and navigation systems that will actually go into cockpits and control towers. As a US company participating as a third party, they bridge the transatlantic gap in ATM standards — their GBAS, GNSS, and icing detection technologies are validated against both FAA and EASA certification frameworks. For any consortium needing real-world flight hardware expertise rather than purely research contributions, Honeywell is a proven and well-connected partner.
