Croatia's national air navigation service provider, deeply embedded in SESAR research across trajectory management, remote towers, and drone airspace integration.
Croatia Control is the national Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP) of Croatia, responsible for managing all air traffic in Croatian airspace. Within H2020, they contribute operational expertise and real-world validation to the SESAR Joint Undertaking programme — Europe's coordinated effort to modernize air traffic management. Their role spans testing new controller tools, validating trajectory management systems, and trialling advanced concepts like remote tower operations and drone integration in controlled airspace. They bring the perspective of a mid-sized European ANSP operating in a strategically important airspace corridor between Western and Southeastern Europe.
All 36 H2020 projects fall under the SESAR programme, covering the full spectrum from trajectory management (PJ18 4DTM) to network management (PJ09 DCB) and master planning (PJ20 AMPLE).
Multiple projects on trajectory-based operations including PJ18 4DTM (largest funding at EUR 233K), PJ18-W2 4D Skyways, PJ06 ToBeFREE, and PJ01 EAD for arrivals/departures.
PJ05 Remote Tower (EUR 87.5K) and PJ05-W2 DTT (EUR 63K) demonstrate sustained engagement with remote and digital tower concepts across both SESAR waves.
PJ13-W2 ERICA focuses on enabling RPAS insertion in controlled airspace, covering detect-and-avoid, IFR integration, and regulatory accommodation — a clear new direction.
PJ09 DCB, PJ09-W2 DNMS (EUR 189K), and PJ24 NCM address demand-capacity balancing, flow management, and network collaborative management.
PJ16 CWP HMI, PJ10 PROSA, and PJ10-W2 PROSA cover controller working positions, separation management tools, and collaborative control concepts.
In the first SESAR wave (2016–2019), Croatia Control focused on foundational ATM infrastructure: demand-capacity balancing, master plan development for the Single European Sky, flight object interoperability, and en-route airspace management. In the second wave (2019–2023), their focus shifted notably toward machine learning applications, RPAS/drone integration into controlled airspace, and advanced arrival/departure management with performance-based navigation. This progression reflects a move from traditional airspace management validation toward digitalization and the accommodation of new airspace users like drones.
Croatia Control is positioning itself at the intersection of drone airspace integration and AI-assisted air traffic management — two areas that will define European ATM for the next decade.
Croatia Control operates exclusively as a participant, never as a coordinator — consistent with the role of a national ANSP contributing operational validation and domain expertise to large SESAR consortia. With 149 unique partners across 28 countries, they are deeply embedded in the pan-European ATM research network. Their participation across nearly every major SESAR solution (PJ01 through PJ31) makes them a reliable, broad-scope contributor rather than a niche specialist.
Exceptionally wide network with 149 unique consortium partners spanning 28 countries, reflecting their involvement across virtually the entire SESAR programme. This makes them one of the most broadly connected ANSPs in the H2020 transport pillar, with reach across all major European aviation research players.
As Croatia's sole ANSP, they offer something few partners can: operational validation in a geographically strategic airspace that bridges Western Europe, the Mediterranean, and Southeastern Europe. Their participation across both SESAR waves in nearly every solution area means they have institutional knowledge spanning the full ATM modernization agenda — from airport surface management to en-route free routing. For consortium builders, they provide a credible Southeast European operational validation site with real traffic and real controllers, which is essential for demonstrating that SESAR solutions work beyond the core Western European airspaces.
