SkyGrid, a Boeing company, today announced the activation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Boeing Saudi Arabia and the General Authority of Civil Aviation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (GACA) through the launch of an AAM Airspace and Operational Feasibility Analysis.
“Working alongside King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), the initiative will assess the operational and regulatory viability of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, supporting the implementation of the GACA AAM Roadmap and advancing a pathway toward future Automated Flight Rules (AFR) operations across the Kingdom,” according to a SkyGrid press release.
“The Feasibility Analysis will evaluate AAM routes and cooperative airspace areas, CNS and other infrastructure, and associated vertiports and airports to demonstrate the viability of safe and sustainable AAM operations for both piloted and remotely piloted aerial vehicles. The project will address operations under Visual Flight Rules (VFR), Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), and ultimately Automated Flight Rules (AFR) — a framework for fully autonomous flight. Modeled on Boeing’s Concept of Operations for Automated Flight Rules, the study targets medium-density, medium-complexity operations with collaborative and responsible automated systems.”
The parties will conduct a Gap Analysis to identify the required air, ground, and air traffic management technology and infrastructure enablers needed to support UAM and autonomous aircraft operations. The Gap Analysis will lead to an Infrastructure and Technology Roadmap for scaling from VFR and IFR operations to AFR operations in the Kingdom. The analysis will also lead to defined roles and responsibilities of AAM operational stakeholders and propose regulatory changes to enable seamless integration of AAM systems into existing air traffic management frameworks.
The Feasibility Analysis will leverage SkyGrid’s expertise in digital operations and AAM traffic management, including traffic surveillance, micro-weather intelligence, vertiport resource management, and GNSS spoofing detection technologies. KAUST, which previously signed an MoU with SkyGrid to advance AAM technologies and operations in Saudi Arabia, will provide research and technical expertise to underpin the scientific foundations of the analysis.
For more information