Germany Opens Drone Corridor for Long-Range Flights Over the North Sea
A new corridor for long-range drone flights has been established in northern Germany. Stretching between the military airbase in Nordholz, Cuxhaven, and the island of Heligoland, the corridor is intended to enable the integration of long-range drones into both civilian and military airspace structures. The initiative is part of the Achilles research project, supported by the German Ministry of Defence and the European Defence Agency (EDA). Regular operations in the corridor are scheduled to begin this spring.
Total Length: 110 km
The Achilles project aims to safely integrate long-range drone flights into existing air traffic management systems. The newly established corridor spans 110 kilometers and allows flights at altitudes above 200 meters. All necessary flight approvals were secured last year.
Droniq GmbH, a subsidiary of Germany’s air traffic control authority DFS, is working in partnership with the Bundeswehr’s Drone Innovation Hub (DIH) to implement the corridor. In addition to military use, the corridor will be made available to emergency services and drone startups for applications such as critical infrastructure protection, maritime traffic monitoring, and environmental surveillance.
Technical Challenges and Solutions
Fixed-wing drones are used for long-range flights. Unlike multirotor drones, these do not take off vertically and require a runway for launch and landing. Therefore, takeoff and landing are carried out by a pilot maintaining visual line of sight with the drone.
The establishment of the corridor required complex approval procedures, taking into account both military and civilian airspace regulations as well as the geographical diversity of the area, which includes nature reserves and the Wadden Sea National Park. Approvals had to be obtained from military air traffic control and civil authorities in the federal states of Hamburg, Lower Saxony, and Schleswig-Holstein.
Reliable data and communication links are essential for these drone operations. During flight, the drone is largely beyond the visual line of sight of the pilot. However, with the help of a traffic management system, the pilot can monitor both the drone’s movements and surrounding air traffic in real time. A transponder ensures the drone is visible on radar, and the pilot can communicate directly with air traffic control via radio.
Future Plans
For the Achilles missions, a drone developed by Hanseatic Aviation Solutions in Bremen is being used. This fixed-wing drone features a wingspan of 3.6 meters, a takeoff weight of around 25 kilograms, and a top speed of up to 100 km/h.
DIH and Droniq see the corridor as a stepping stone toward broader commercial and military drone use. In the future, they plan to expand the corridor and open up additional flight paths. The Bundeswehr’s Innovationslabor Soldat and its research group on assistance systems and robotics are also involved in these expansion plans.
