Shaping Europe's Future
in Higher Airspace
A strategic EDA study supporting European sovereignty, resilience, innovation and civil-military cooperation in an emerging operational domain.
Why this study matters
Higher Airspace is rapidly emerging as a strategic environment for European armed forces. Developments have accelerated at national and European levels, while the evolving framework remains predominantly civilian-driven. The study helps ensure that military requirements are identified, understood and effectively integrated from the outset.
Anticipating these requirements is essential to avoid future operational constraints and to safeguard Europe’s strategic interests and freedom of action in Higher Airspace.
01
Sovereignty
Preserve the ability to monitor, protect and control national airspace up to its upper limits.
02
Security & operational advantage
Prepare for emerging technologies, vulnerabilities and advanced capabilities, including enhanced sensing and persistent surveillance.
03
Civil-military cooperation
Enable effective control and coordination with civilian and commercial actors operating in Higher Airspace.
What the study delivered
The study converted a complex emerging domain into a clear strategic and operational basis for action: understand the landscape, anticipate military needs, explore representative scenarios and recommend practical ways forward.
UNDERSTAND
Map civilian and military developments, military stakes, requirements, vulnerabilities and regulatory challenges.
ANTICIPATE
Identify military requirements, ATM dependencies and governance prerequisites before the framework becomes fixed.
EXPLORE
Analyse four representative operational scenarios and develop four prospective governance models.
RECOMMEND
Provide a coherent and sequenced set of recommendations for EDA, EU institutions and Member States.
OUTPUT
Strategic landscape, military requirements, operational baselines, scenario and dependency analysis, governance options and actionable recommendations.
Strategic opportunities for Europe
Higher Airspace can become a new layer of European resilience and innovation when its architecture reflects both civil and military requirements..
Enhanced connectivity
High-Altitude Platform Systems and other emerging capabilities may provide additional layers of resilient communication and information exchange.
Persistent awareness
Enhanced sensing and persistent surveillance can improve understanding of activities at the highest levels of airspace.
Operational flexibility
HAPS, stratospheric balloons and hypersonic systems can support intelligence gathering, communication and operational flexibility, often at lower cost than space-based assets.
Resilient and secure infrastructure
Future architectures must address dependencies, vulnerabilities, interoperability, security, continuity and redundanc
European industrial leadership
A coherent approach can support European technological excellence, strategic autonomy and industrial competitiveness.
Key Strategic Message
"
Higher Airspace should be approached as a civil-military ecosystem, not as a narrow extension of existing air traffic management. Defence requirements must be considered from the beginning
Quick wins and recommendations
Actions already within reach can build momentum while keeping the public narrative strategic, concise and
non-sensitive.
Civil-military dialogue
Deepen engagement between
defence, regulatory and operational
communities.
Joint demonstrations
Accelerate practical experimentation and shared learning around mature operational scenarios.
European coordination
Clarify roles and responsibilities and avoid future fragmentation.
Shared awareness
Build a common understanding of opportunities, risks, dependencies and priorities.
- Promote a coherent European vision for Higher Airspace.
- Ensure defence requirements are considered from the beginning
- Support assured military access to and control of Higher Airspace.
- Enable safe, interoperable and resilient HAO.
- Develop coherent European governance and an effective civil-military interface.
- Strengthen a competitive European HAO technological and industrial base.
- Transform analysis into practical implementation at EU and national levels.
Looking ahead
The study positions EDA and its participating Member States to engage proactively in the rapidly evolving Higher Airspace domain. It provides a structured basis for future policy development, capability planning and cooperation, while helping shape the European framework in line with defence and strategic autonomy objectives.