LUFTFARTSVERKET

Their core work

Luftfartsverket is Sweden's Civil Aviation Administration, responsible for air navigation services, airport operations, and airspace management across Sweden. Within H2020, they serve as a major operational contributor to the SESAR programme — Europe's initiative to modernize air traffic management. Their work spans the full ATM value chain: from en-route and terminal area operations to remote tower technologies, runway throughput optimization, and integrating drones into controlled airspace. They bring real-world operational authority and infrastructure to validate research concepts in live or near-live environments.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early period (2016–2019), Luftfartsverket focused on foundational SESAR Wave 1 projects: Single European Sky master planning, demand-capacity balancing (ATFCM), en-route airspace management, and establishing SWIM technical infrastructure. The shift in Wave 2 (2019–2023) brought a clear pivot toward unmanned aviation — RPAS integration, U-space, urban air mobility — alongside more advanced topics like machine learning for conflict detection and resolution (CD&R). The evolution mirrors European ATM policy: from optimizing traditional manned aviation operations to preparing airspace for mixed manned-unmanned traffic.

Luftfartsverket is moving from traditional ATM optimization toward enabling urban air mobility and autonomous drone operations in controlled airspace — a strong signal for partners working on U-space, eVTOL, or unmanned traffic management.

How they like to work

Luftfartsverket is exclusively a participant — never a coordinator — across all 40 projects, which is typical for an air navigation service provider that contributes operational expertise and validation infrastructure rather than leading research design. With 191 unique partners across 31 countries, they are a high-connectivity hub in the SESAR ecosystem, regularly embedded in large consortia. This makes them an accessible and experienced partner: they know how large EU consortia work and bring the operational credibility that SESAR validation exercises require.

With 191 unique consortium partners spanning 31 countries, Luftfartsverket has one of the broadest collaboration networks in European ATM research. Their partners are heavily concentrated in the SESAR ecosystem — major ANSPs, avionics manufacturers, and ATM research centers across the EU.

What sets them apart

As Sweden's national air navigation service provider, Luftfartsverket brings something most research partners cannot: sovereign authority over real airspace and operational airport infrastructure for live validation. Their heavy investment in remote tower technology (their largest single project at nearly EUR 2M) positions them as a European leader in operating airports remotely — directly relevant for rural connectivity and cost-efficient airport management. For any consortium needing an ANSP partner with deep SESAR experience, broad network reach, and willingness to host operational demonstrations, they are a proven choice.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PJ05 Remote Tower
  Their largest funded project (EUR 1.99M), addressing multi-airport remote tower operations — a capability Sweden has pioneered operationally.
• PJ02 EARTH
  Second-largest funding (EUR 1.75M), covering runway throughput with advanced technologies including LiDAR, GBAS, and wake turbulence re-categorization.
• PJ13-W2 ERICA
  Signals their strategic move into RPAS/drone integration in controlled airspace — a growing area where ANSP participation is critical for regulatory acceptance.