U-AGREE’s First Stakeholder Workshop Brings Risk Assessment in U-space to the Forefront

Brussels, 30 January 2025 — The U-AGREE project reached a major milestone with its first Stakeholder Workshop, held at EUROCONTROL headquarters in Brussels. The event, titled “Assessing Risk within U-space: U-AGREE Stakeholder Workshop,” gathered a diverse audience of experts, regulators, industry players, and researchers to explore how to enhance risk assessment methods for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in the evolving U-space environment.

Organised under the umbrella of the SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking, the workshop ran from 10:00 to 16:00 and attracted both in-person and virtual participants. The hybrid format ensured broad access and lively interaction across the European drone and U-space community.

The workshop agenda was designed to tackle some of the most pressing challenges in UAS risk management. Key topics included:

• Applicable regulations and standards guiding UAS operations
• Operational scenarios and use cases relevant to urban and controlled airspaces
• Identification of hazards and associated risks in current drone activities
• U-space-based mitigation strategies aimed at enabling safer, more scalable drone integration

The U-AGREE team also facilitated open discussions to gather feedback, validate priorities, and shape the direction of the project’s integrated risk model—designed to build on and enhance the widely used SORA (Specific Operations Risk Assessment) methodology.

Participants had the opportunity to exchange ideas, challenge assumptions, and contribute to shaping a more responsive and future-ready risk model for U-space. The interactive format encouraged stakeholders to identify key operational scenarios and hazards, helping the consortium refine its focus areas for upcoming work.

Beyond the technical dialogue, the event served as an invaluable networking platform. It brought together representatives from regulatory bodies, ANSPs, academia, industry leaders, and project partners—all united by the common goal of enabling safe, secure, and efficient drone operations in Europe.

This first workshop is just the beginning of an ongoing engagement strategy, with more opportunities to connect and contribute as the project progresses.