It’s been a bit long since we wrote about the angel of the skies, Altitude Angel.

That wait is now over.

The British provider of Unified Traffic Management (UTM) solutions has unveiled an airspace management platform which it claims is a cost-effective next-generation airspace management solution that can support local and regional airports and airfields.

Called GuardianUTM Enterprise, the platform provides a combined view of the airspace in the vicinity of airports and also allows for the airport to start designing and providing UTM Services for drone companies and drone operators.

Other features of the GuardianUTM Enterprise platform include digitalisation of pre-flight and take-off approvals to drone operators within airspace; high levels of automation, including customised automated access policies and approval workflows of unmanned operations; support to UTM Service Discovery through Altitude Angel’s developer platform – a capability which allows third party vendors to create integrated services which can locate and submit access requests in a standardised format, globally; and integration with existing surveillance infrastructure to improve aerial monitoring of all airspace users within the airport’s vicinity, adding intelligence to existing counter-UAS solutions.

 “We’re excited to be making the solution generally available, giving airports and airfields across the globe the chance to have an even fuller picture of the airspace they manage and an option to welcome safely integrated drone traffic into their operations,” Simon Wynn Mackenzie, Altitude Angel’s VP Products said in a statement. “When designing the solution, we analysed common ‘pain points’ of airports and ensured they were addressed. We wanted to ensure we created something airports and airfields needed to support them in integrating and scaling unmanned operations safely; something which can grow with their operational needs both now and well into the future.

“The solution we’ve created can be introduced easily and gives users instant visibility over the sky they manage and an interface which can be exposed to the drone industry. Plus, those wishing to utilise drone services will have a mechanism to see which airports are ‘UTM Ready’. With an easy-to-use operational interface for airport operators which requires minimal training and no additional on-site hardware to be deployed – but with the option at larger airports to integrate with existing electronic flight management systems, the intuitive ‘top-down view’ allows airspace managers to clearly distinguish authorised and unauthorised drones in real-time and take appropriate action.”

The platform was designed to help airspace authorities digitise their operations in readiness for the legalisation of the EASA Unmanned-Space Regulations, which are expected to become law from 1 January 2023.

“Using GuardianUTM Enterprise, airports can easily set access policies and create automation workflows which are accessible via Altitude Angel’s UTM ecosystem and used by hundreds of thousands of drone pilots, manufacturers and software companies daily,” the company added. “In doing so, this guarantees the airport the best available view of the sky and nearby drone operations, ensuring a growing sector of the aviation market is able to access the new airport UTM Service.

“For larger airports with counter-UAS solutions, data from on-site surveillance systems can be optionally integrated to give airport security staff greater situation intelligence which is a critical step in encouraging greater drone use. But the solutions can be deployed and configured for airports of any size; providing a flexible platform for enabling drones to be safely integrated in the airspace around these facilities: a crucial step in unlocking a wide variety of unique use-cases for drones.”