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Grant Details

Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

  • Core Objective: To significantly advance the 'Digital flight rules' concept and support the evolution of the overall ICAO framework towards a highly automated Air Traffic Management (ATM) environment, as outlined in the European ATM Master Plan.
  • Target Recipient: Entities with strong technical and research expertise in aviation, air traffic management, uncrewed aircraft systems (RPAS), and digital technologies for aviation.
  • SECTOR-SPECIFIC: Aviation, Air Traffic Management, Digital Technologies.
  • Geographic Scope: Eligible countries are defined in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. The research aims to support global ATM evolution, particularly through the ICAO framework.
  • Key Filtering Criteria: Focus on developing and validating a new 'digital flight rules' concept; analysis of ICAO Annex II and Annex XI evolution; assessment of human performance aspects in automated ATM.
  • Grant Frequency and Program Context: This is a specific topic ('HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03-WA1-2') within the 'Digital European Sky Exploratory Research 03' call, part of the broader SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking Bi-Annual Work Programme 2024-2025, under the Horizon Europe framework programme.

Financial Structure

  • Funding will take the form of a lump sum.
  • Minimum grant amount per project: EUR 500,000.
  • Maximum grant amount per project: EUR 1,000,000.
  • Total indicative budget for this specific topic ('HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03-WA1-2') is part of a EUR 10,000,000 budget allocated for the WA1 group in 2025.
  • 'Financial and operational capacity' requirements are 'described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes'.
  • 'Legal and financial set-up of the grants' are 'described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes', with specific exceptions for lump sum contributions.
  • Eligible costs are defined by the lump sum methodology.
  • Indirect cost policies are covered within the lump sum contribution.
  • Financial reporting requirements will align with lump sum grant agreements.

Eligibility Requirements

Organization Type
  • Eligible organization types are 'described in Annex A of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes'.
  • Based on the nature of a Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Action (RIA) and the scope, typically eligible participants include but are not limited to: universities, research organizations, public bodies, private companies (including SMEs and large enterprises) with relevant research and development capacities.
Specific Qualifications and Certifications
  • Participants must have the technical expertise required for advanced research in aviation rules, ATM, and digital aviation technologies.
Organizational Size and Capacity
  • 'Financial and operational capacity' requirements are 'described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes'.
Geographic Location
  • Eligible countries are 'described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes'.
  • Specific provisions exist for non-EU/non-Associated Countries to make funding available for their participants (refer to Horizon Europe Programme Guide).
Partnership or Consortium Requirements
  • The call's collaborative nature and explicit 'allowPartnerSearch' suggest that proposals are expected to involve multiple beneficiaries, typical for Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Actions.
  • Beneficiaries must ensure 'mutual access to the background to and to the results of ongoing and closed linked actions' if working on such actions.

Application Process

Application Deadline
  • Submission deadline: 2025-09-16 00:00:00+0000.
Submission Process
  • Application procedure and steps are 'described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual'.
  • Submission is via the electronic submission service on the Funding & Tenders Portal.
  • This is a 'single-stage' submission process.
  • Required documentation includes: Standard application form (HE RIA, IA) - Part A, and the SESAR 3 application form (RIA, IA) - Part B (specific for this call, available in the Submission System).
  • A detailed budget table (HE LS) is required.
Project Implementation Timeline
  • Maximum project duration is 30 months.
  • This duration 'including a 6-month period at the end of the project life cycle to undertake communications, dissemination and exploitation activities in relation to the research results'.
Post-Award Requirements
  • Beneficiaries must acknowledge additional dissemination and exploitation obligations and incorporate them into the proposal and Annex I to the grant agreement.
Support Available
  • SESAR 3 JU Call Helpdesk: [email protected]
  • Online Manual, Horizon Europe Programme Guide, Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ.
  • Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points (NCPs), Enterprise Europe Network.
  • IT Helpdesk for technical issues.
  • European IPR Helpdesk for intellectual property assistance.
  • CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk for standardisation advice.
  • Partner Search function is available to find collaborators.

Evaluation Criteria

Award Criteria
  • 'Award criteria, scoring and thresholds' are 'described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes'.
  • The specific award criteria for this call are 'described in subsection 1.4 of the BAWP 2024-2025' (Bi-Annual Work Programme).
Project Scope Alignment
  • The extent to which the proposal 'significantly advances' the development of 'Digital flight rules' (FR-2).
  • Comprehensiveness of the analysis regarding the 'evolution of ICAO Annex II' to support the new flight rules concept.
  • Thoroughness of the analysis on how the new rules apply to certified aircraft (crewed or uncrewed) in environments with cooperative surveillance.
  • Quality of the 'full operational concept' description for digital flight rules.
  • Initial assessment of 'human performance aspects' for both on-board pilots and remote pilots.
  • Relevance and depth of the analysis on the 'evolution of the overall ICAO framework' (e.g., Annex 11, PANS OPS) to support a highly automated ATM environment.
  • Consideration of the 'potential impact of the evolution of the role of the human operator' in the ATM system.
Impact
  • Expected contribution to the objectives set in 'Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085', the 'SRIA', and the 'European ATM Master Plan'.
Implementation Quality
  • Quality of the work plan, proposed resources, and consortium composition (if applicable).
  • The evaluation committee may be composed partially of representatives of EU institutions and agencies (internal experts).

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance
  • This call is 'subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks'.
  • Projects must align with the intended evolution of 'ICAO Annex II (Rules of the Air)' and 'Annex XI (ATS services)', and potentially other ICAO documents (e.g., Annex 11, PANS OPS, Doc. 4444, Doc 10056, Doc. 9771).
  • Compliance with 'Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085' establishing the Joint Undertakings under Horizon Europe is required.
Dissemination and Exploitation Obligations
  • Beneficiaries must make 'proactive efforts to share, on a royalty-free basis, in a timely manner and as appropriate, all relevant results with the other grants awarded under the same call'.
  • Results must be 'made available for reuse under fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory conditions through a well-defined mechanism using a trusted repository'. This is for compliance with the objectives of Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085, the SRIA, and the European ATM Master Plan.
  • If the purpose of exploitation is related to 'standardisation', beneficiaries must 'grant a non-exclusive licence to the results royalty-free'.
  • For 'linked actions', beneficiaries must ensure 'mutual access to the background to and to the results of ongoing and closed linked actions', if necessary for implementation or exploitation.
Project Specific Requirements
  • The research must explore 'whether in some cases on-board sensors for the detection of non-cooperative traffic may be required to support the safety case' for digital flight rules.
  • The research should describe the 'full operational concept' and analyze how ICAO Annexes would need to evolve.
  • Initial assessment of 'human performance aspects' for both on-board and remote pilots is required.

Grant Details

digital aviation air traffic management atm aviation icao flight rules automated flight uncrewed aircraft rpas research innovation european atm master plan aerospace airspace management human factors air navigation transportation technology mobility
Digital flight rules
HORIZON-SESAR-2025-DES-ER-03-WA1-2
Horizon Europe
OTHER
OTHER
TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGY OTHER
DEVELOPMENT IDEA
OTHER
SDG9
FUNDING RESEARCH_DEVELOPMENT
24000000.00
500000.00
1000000.00
EUR
100.00
Sept. 16, 2025, midnight
March-May 2025