HAPS Alliance White Paper Offers Guidance on Safe, Efficient and Scalable Fleet Operations

HAPS Operators Can Leverage White Paper to Support Safety and Regulatory Discussions around Attended Autonomous Fleet Systems Using Collaborative Traffic Management for the Stratosphere

WAKEFIELD, Mass. — April 12, 2022 — The HAPS Alliance, an international association of cross-industry players working to enable a High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) ecosystem, today announced the publication of a new white paper, entitled HAPS Operation Using Attended Autonomous Fleet Systems,  which is available for free to download.

Written by the HAPS Alliance Aviation Working Group, the authoritative paper explains Collaborative Traffic Management for the Stratosphere (CTMS), informed by the principles of Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM), as an operational end-state that enables safe and scalable operations of HAPS vehicles operating at altitude as Attended Autonomous Fleet Systems.

“We wrote our new white paper to better equip the industry with background knowledge on the use of CTMS for autonomous fleet systems. The paper discusses the current approaches to cooperative traffic management solutions, with a look at what’s needed to support the growing number of use cases,” said HAPS Alliance Aviation Working Group Chair Andy Thurling. “UTM principles, adapted to this airspace, will allow regulators and operators to test this approach in a low-density, lower-risk environment and adjust best practices quickly based on lessons learned.”

“Sooner than many people expect, fleets of HAPS-enabled unmanned aircraft will be serving diverse connectivity needs. Unlike individual aircraft, fleets of high-altitude vehicles will be required to cooperate and coordinate with each other to handle mobility tasks properly. The HAPS Alliance white paper highlights how a collaborative traffic management approach can enable fleets to leverage HAPS technologies to carry out a range of functionalities, from sensing to maneuvering,” said HAPS Alliance Officer and Treasurer Gregory Ewert. “We are grateful to the HAPS Alliance Aviation Working Group members for their contributions to this paper.”

Broad HAPS deployment is on the way. Not only does the HAPS Alliance white paper serve as a guide to support safety and regulatory discussions, it also sets out near- and longer-term steps toward achieving the Alliance’s vision of safe and effective autonomous aircraft operations. With the HAPS market expected to reach $4 billion in value by 2029, according to Northern Sky Research, telecommunications, technology, aviation and aerospace companies, as well as public and educational institutions, will benefit from the paper’s information and insights to tap into market opportunity and connect the unconnected.

HAPS Alliance Membership Benefits

All companies interested in the HAPS ecosystem are encouraged to become HAPS Alliance members. Alliance membership levels — Principal, General, and Government and Education — are open to organizations in any industry sector. Members have the opportunity to become involved in various membership initiatives, including working groups, member-only meetings, and collaboration with other HAPS Alliance members to work on technology components and use cases for enabling a smarter world.

About the HAPS Alliance

The HAPS Alliance is an industry association of High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) industry leaders that include telecommunications, technology, aviation and aerospace companies, as well as public and educational institutions. United by a vision to address diverse social issues and create new value through the utilization of high-altitude vehicles in the stratosphere, the Alliance is working to accelerate the development and commercial adoption of HAPS technology by promoting and building industry-wide standards, interoperability guidelines and regulatory policies in both the telecommunication and aviation industries. For more information, please visit https://hapsalliance.org/.