Monday, July 7, 2025

BURDI: Advancing Drone Integration in Belgium

BURDI, short for Belgium-Netherlands U-space Reference Design Implementation, is a groundbreaking collaborative initiative co-funded by the European Union under the Connecting Europe Facility and supported by SESAR Joint Undertaking. The primary aim of the BURDI project is to establish a reliable, sustainable, and secure solution for integrating unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into U-space airspace.

BURDI: Advancing Drone Integration in Belgium

By deploying reliable and efficient U-space services, the project intends to lay the groundwork for safe and sustainable integration of multiple, complex UAS missions (BVLOS) in Belgium. This initiative serves as a first step, ensuring that the implementation of U-space airspace continues to evolve and improve beyond the project's completion. This includes:

  • Development of U-space airspaces
  • Comprehensive analysis through the Air Risk Assessment (ARA)
  • Ensuring social acceptance via the coordination mechanism (CM)
  • Certification of single common information service provider (sCISP)
  • Certification of U-space service providers (USSP)

BURDI brings together various stakeholders, including aviation authorities, air traffic service providers, and unmanned aircraft systems traffic management (UTM) stakeholders, fostering best practices and standardization. In collaboration with the Belgian Civil Aviation Authority (BCAA), the project pursues to implement the first U-space airspaces in Belgium, such as:

  • Geozone EBR54 – Antwerp Harbour (except overlap with the Antwerp Airport Controlled Traffic Region (EBAW CTR))
  • The Antwerp Airport Controlled Traffic Region (EBAW Antwerp CTR)

Belgium stands out as one of the leaders in Europe when it comes to implementing U-space. This leadership is further exemplified by the implementation of U-space airspace in the second busiest port in Europe, the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, highlighting Belgium's commitment to be the forerunner in innovation and safety. In addition to the security and safety domains, great importance is also attached to the societal factor as part of the extensive nature of the coordination mechanism.

The BURDI project drives the implementation of Drone Strategy 2.0 within the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy (SSMS) by enabling safe and structured UAS integration. As the industry shifts to autonomous platforms, BURDI plays a key role in regulatory alignment and operational feasibility.

More info: www.burdi.eu

 

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