With the goal of helping digitalise Europe’s air traffic management, the ESMA DSD project is demonstrating two key datalink solutions.

Traditionally, air traffic controllers have communicated with pilots using radio technology, namely very high frequency VHF (now VDL2). But as the number of flights continues to increase, this approach is quickly becoming obsolete as the bandwidth for this technology is limited.

“This increase in air traffic demand, combined with our limited resources, has made it necessary for European ATM to decongest the VDL2 bandwidth before the so-called ‘VDL2 crunch’ arrives,” says Diego Herce, a project manager at the European Satellite Services Provider (ESSP).

According to the ESMA DSD project, doing so safely requires that air traffic control (ATC) have access to modern data link services. “The dual link solution between Iris satellite communications (SatCom) and VDLm2 will provide this capacity in the short term, while paving the way towards a multilink future,” explains Herce, who is coordinating the project.

A dual link solution allows ATC and pilots to seamlessly communicate using both legacy radio technology (VDL2) and the new Iris Satellite Communication service developed by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Iris programme and led by Viasat.

“The goal of the ESMA DSD project is to demonstrate both the operation of the dual link technology and the improvements in ground infrastructure as a next step in Europe’s path to a multilink environment,” adds Herce.

A two-pronged path to a datalink future

To deliver on this goal, the ESMA DSD project, co-funded under the CEF Transport programme, managed by  CINEA and supported by the SESAR Joint Undertaking, is demonstrating two key datalink solutions: dual link ATN/OSI and multilink ATN/IPS.

The dual link ATN/OSI solution refers to a datalink communication service that uses open system interconnection (OSI) protocol. It allows both the air traffic controller and pilot to seamlessly use air traffic services (ATS) with both current radio based VDL2 and Iris SatCom technologies.

The demonstration will be based on extensive data collection in a real operational environment and will involve a large number of aircraft properly connected to both links and operating across Europe. The first demonstration flights, which are scheduled to start in July 2025, will see 23 Transavia aircraft fly regular commercial flights using dual link capabilities.

The multilink ATN/IPS solution is a separate demonstration that will address progress in the ground infrastructure using the new internet protocol suite (IPS). The purpose of the demonstration is to show how an IPS-equipped aircraft can utilise OSI-based ground systems during a transatlantic flight from the US to Europe. It will also allow the project to measure the performance of such flights in a near-operational environment.

The aim is to further develop the architectures created in the previous SESAR Solution 77 - Future Communication Infrastructure, while also showing compatibility between OSI ground systems and future IPS-equipped aircraft. The demonstrator is made possible thanks to the collaboration of the Boeing ecoDemonstrator and the ESA’s Iris programmes.

“Thanks to both dual link and multilink demonstrations, ESMA will advance the modernisation of the European data link environment and move the needle towards a future multilink environment,” explains Herce.

The initial results of both demonstrators will be presented at the project’s first major event in November 2025.

Modernising ATM

Together, the two demonstrators will support the development of a European data link environment capable of decongesting traditional radio bandwidth in one of the most demanding airspaces. It will also help modernise Europe’s air traffic management.

“The work being done by the ESMA DSD project will play a key role in helping ATM overcome the capacity constraints foreseen by current technologies and transition towards a future-proofed digital and highly automated solution,” concludes Herce.

You can learn more about the ESMA DSD project here.