Lower Saxony Grants BVLOS Ascent Permit

State of Lower Saxony grants BVLOS ascent permit, important milestone in the initiation of the U-Space Reallabor North-West Germany and German Bight. 

Bremen, 26.05.2023: The planning for the U-Space Reallaboratory North-West Germany and German Bight has been significantly advanced by the Bremen-based company, b.r.m. IT & Aerospace, reaching another important milestone. The Lower Saxony State Aviation Authority has granted permission for BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) flights of UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) in the North-West German region. This latest step paves the way for the development of solutions for the coordinated integration of unmanned aerial vehicles and manned aircraft in the existing airspace structures.  

The approval was granted to Flugschule Borkum GmbH which, along with the Bremen-based company b.r.m. IT & Aerospace, the new drone test centre Hatten-UAS and the Oldenburg-Hatten commercial airfield (EDWH), belongs to the group of companies owned by Bremen entrepreneurs Harald and Markus Rossol.  

The approval area for BVLOS drone operations covers a total of 3600 square kilometres. It stretches from Hatten-UAS to the Oldenburg-Hatten airfield across the Jade Bay into the North Sea and north of the East Frisian Islands to the Dutch border. The height limit is set to 120 metres. The current permit relates to test operations with the OptoPrecision VT-4 “Rochen”. The UAS was developed primarily for environmental monitoring and can fly at speeds of up to 180km/h with a flight mass of 100kg and a range of 600km. Systems such as ADS-B and FLARM are integrated into the UAS for mutual recognition in the airspace and, if necessary, automated safe evasive manoeuvres.  

Markus Rossol, Managing Partner of b.r.m. IT & Aerospace, commented on the approval, “for us, the approval is an important step on the way to becoming a real laboratory for North-West Germany and the German Bight. At the same time, it paves the way for effective development of solutions for the orderly and coordinated coexistence of UAS from industrial, university and other civil operators and manned aircraft within the existing airspace structures.”  

Recent successes in the aviation industry include the conversion of an A380 – for testing hydrogen in direct combustion – which proved successful in 2022 with the “ZEROe demonstrator”. Airbus plans to have climate-neutral aircraft of the “ZEROe concept aircrafts” ready for series production by 2035.  

Rossol went on to explain, “we are pursuing an integrative approach for drone operations within the framework of the U-Space Reallabor North-West Germany and German Bight, for which a strict spatial demarcation between UAS and manned aircraft is not a mandatory requirement. As a U-Space service provider, we are planning to establish the UAS Control Centre Bremen (USSP) in our sustainably operated data centre, through which we will offer our customers all the necessary services for drone operations under VFR, IFR and night VFR conditions. The aim here is to significantly simplify coordination and automate UAS operations while increasing safety.” 

AVIASPACE BREMEN e.V. supports its member b.r.m. IT & Aerospace in the planning of the U-Space Reallabor North-West Germany and German Bight, as well as the UAS control centre Bremen and is pleased with the BVLOS approval!