SESAR 3 JU

What SESAR 3 JU does

SESAR 3 JU is the European Union's institutional public-private partnership established under Council Regulation (EU) 2021/2085 in 2021 to coordinate the research, development, and deployment of technological solutions for modernizing European air traffic management (ATM). The organization serves as the technological pillar of the EU's Single European Sky policy, bringing together the European Commission, Eurocontrol, and more than 50 member organizations spanning the entire aviation value chain—including air navigation service providers (ANSPs) such as NATS, DSNA, DFS, ENAIRE, ENAV, and Airnav Ireland; airport operators such as Groupe ADP, Aena, and Schiphol; airlines including Air France, Ryanair, and Lufthansa; manufacturers such as Airbus, Boeing, Thales, Leonardo, Honeywell, Indra, and Frequentis; and drone operators, U-space service providers, and academic institutions. Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, SESAR 3 JU coordinates an innovation pipeline spanning exploratory research through to large-scale Digital Sky Demonstrators, with 105 ongoing and 178 completed projects, and 187 ongoing and 139 delivered SESAR Solutions.

SESAR 3 JU's core technology portfolio centers on trajectory-based operations (TBO), U-space drone traffic management (U1-U4 services), remote tower operations, integrated CNS (Communications, Navigation, Surveillance), virtualisation and service-oriented architectures, and AI/ML applications for ATM. Specific technical capabilities include predictive analytics for trajectory and weather forecasting (DART, TAPAS, ASTRA, KAIROS), AI-based speech recognition for controllers (MALORCA), autonomous agent systems integrating ATC and ATFM (HYPERSOLVER, JARVIS), process automation for ATC workstations (HAAWAII, SAFEOPS, ARTIMATION), anomaly detection (ALARM, ISOBAR), generative AI for synthetic data (SYNTHAIR), and optimization engines for green operations (MAHALO, HERON, GREEN-GEAR). The organization publishes and maintains the European ATM Master Plan (2025 edition), which defines the strategic deployment roadmap for the Digital European Sky through 10 Strategic Deployment Objectives and 12 Development Priorities.

SESAR 3 JU does not operate as a commercial entity and does not sell products or services; rather, it is funded through a co-funding model combining EU contributions via Horizon Europe (EUR 600 million), Eurocontrol (up to EUR 500 million in-kind and financial), industry partners (minimum EUR 500 million), and the Connecting Europe Facility (at least EUR 200 million), totaling approximately EUR 1.8 billion across its 2021-2031 mandate. Solutions are deployed either locally or in EU-synchronized fashion through Common Projects and the Deployment Manager under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 409/2013, with quantified long-term outcomes including a projected EUR 17 return per euro invested by 2050 and 400 million tonnes of CO2 emissions avoided by 2050. Day-to-day management is led by Executive Director Andreas Boschen, appointed July 2022, under a Governing Board chaired by the European Commission (DG MOVE).

Name

SESAR 3 JU

Legal name

SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking

Website

https://sesarju.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SESAR 3 JU is the EU's institutional public-private partnership coordinating air traffic management modernization research and deployment across Europe, serving air navigation service providers, airports, airlines, drone operators, and manufacturers through a EUR 1.8 billion, 10-year mandate (2021-2031).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Air Traffic Management Research and Innovation

NAICS

Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511), Computer Systems Design Services (541512)

SIC

Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Airport & Airspace Collaboration for Emissions Reduction (CDM, SESAR/NextGen, CCO/CDO) (THABANAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Systems Engineering & Technical Program Management (BPAHAIAI), C4ISR Systems & Tactical Data Links (IMABAGAE)

Keywords

• Air traffic management
• ATM modernization research
• U-space drone integration
• Aviation innovation programs
• European ATM Master Plan

Headquarters

HQ city

Berchem

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. EU Research Funding (Horizon Europe): The SESAR 3 JU receives EUR 600 million in funding from the European Union through the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme. This funding supports the Digital European Sky research and innovation programme.
2. Eurocontrol Contributions: Eurocontrol provides up to EUR 500 million in in-kind and financial contributions to the partnership.
3. Industry Contributions: Industry partners contribute a minimum of EUR 500 million through in-kind and financial contributions.
4. Connecting Europe Facility (CEF): Digital European Sky demonstrators benefit from at least EUR 200 million in funding from the Connecting Europe Facility in coordination with CINEA.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

SESAR 3 JU is a European institutional public-private partnership that funds, coordinates and delivers research and innovation for air traffic management (ATM) modernization. It operates the Digital European Sky research and innovation programme, developing SESAR Solutions across nine flagship domains (Connected and Automated ATM, U-space, AI for Aviation, Virtual Centres, etc.) that are transferred to industry and deployed by ANSPs, airports and airspace users across Europe. It does not sell commercial products; instead it coordinates 50+ member organizations and delivers through an innovation pipeline spanning exploratory research, industrial research, large-scale demonstrations and deployment.

Product overview

SESAR 3 JU operates as a research and innovation partnership rather than a traditional product company. The core offering is the Digital European Sky programme—a comprehensive research and innovation ecosystem structured around nine flagship domains (Connected and Automated ATM, Air-ground Integration and Autonomy, Capacity-on-demand, U-space and Urban Air Mobility, Virtualisation and Cyber-secure Data Sharing, Multimodality, Aviation Green Deal, AI for Aviation, and Civil-Military Interoperability). The programme delivers through an innovation pipeline spanning exploratory research through to large-scale demonstrations, producing SESAR Solutions that are catalogued in the Solutions Catalogue (139 delivered, 72 deployed). Key platforms include the Projects Portal (105 ongoing projects), the European ATM Master Plan as the strategic roadmap, and technology-specific solutions for U-space (drone traffic management), Remote Towers, Integrated CNS, Smart Airports, and Sustainable ATM. Solutions are not commercial products sold to end-users but are transferred to industry and deployed by air navigation service providers, airports, and airspace users across Europe.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SESAR Solutions Catalogue

Quantifiable outcome

• 400 million tonnes CO2 saved by 2050 through optimized flight operations
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability10 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

28 partnerships are on record, tiered core/founder, key industry member, key ansp member, regulatory partner, standards partner, technology partner, international partner, airport partner, global partner and research partner.

• European Union (EU)core/founderStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary funder through Horizon Europe programme contributing EUR 600 million. EU is the founding member providing institutional mandate for the SESAR 3 JU 10-year programme (2021-2031) to deliver the Digital European Sky.
• Eurocontrolcore/founderStrategic or Co-development PartnerContributing up to EUR 500 million in in-kind and financial contributions. Strategic partner providing operational expertise in ATM across Europe.
• Airbuskey industry memberStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor aerospace manufacturer and partnership member contributing to ATM modernization research including sustainable aviation operations.
• Boeing Research & Technology-Europekey industry memberStrategic or Co-development PartnerAerospace manufacturer providing research and technology development expertise for ATM modernization.
• Thaleskey industry memberStrategic or Co-development PartnerAir traffic management systems manufacturer contributing to CNS (Communications, Navigation, Surveillance) solutions.
• Leonardokey industry memberStrategic or Co-development PartnerAerospace and defense company participating in ATM research and development.
• NATSkey ansp memberStrategic or Co-development PartnerUK air traffic services provider contributing operational expertise and participating in remote tower and other SESAR solutions development.
• EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency)regulatory partnerOthersRegulatory body working with SESAR JU to ensure alignment between Master Plan and regulatory framework to accelerate deployment.
• Eurocaestandards partnerOthersEuropean organisation for the development and promotion of standards for aviation, ensuring SESAR solutions meet global standards.
• DSNA (France)key ansp memberStrategic or Co-development PartnerDirection des Services de la Navigation Aérienne - French air navigation service provider contributing to SESAR research.
• ENAIREkey ansp memberStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpanish air navigation service provider participating in SESAR research and deployment.
• ENAVkey ansp memberStrategic or Co-development PartnerItalian air navigation service provider contributing to SESAR research activities.
• DFS (Germany)key ansp memberStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeutsche Flugsicherung - German air navigation service provider participating in SESAR solutions.
• Indrakey industry memberStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpanish technology company providing ATM systems and solutions for SESAR research.
• Frequentiskey industry memberStrategic or Co-development PartnerAustrian communications and information solutions provider for ATM systems.
• Honeywellkey industry memberStrategic or Co-development PartnerAerospace technology company contributing avionics and ATM solutions expertise.
• Collins Aerospace Ireland Limitedkey industry memberStrategic or Co-development PartnerAerospace and defense technology company participating in SESAR research.
• SAABkey industry memberStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwedish aerospace and defense company contributing to remote tower and other ATM solutions.
• Uniflytechnology partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerBelgian company specializing in U-space and drone traffic management solutions for SESAR U-space research.
• TERN Systemstechnology partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnology partner contributing to SESAR solutions development.
• NAV Canadainternational partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerCanadian air navigation service provider participating as international member in SESAR research.
• Groupe ADPairport partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerParis airports operator contributing to airport operations and smart airport research.
• Aenaairport partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpanish airport operator and largest airport management group in the world, participating in SESAR airport research.
• Schiphol Airportairport partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetherlands major hub airport contributing to smart airport and operational solutions.
• US FAA NextGen Programinternational partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerUS-FAA partnership for transatlantic ATM interoperability between NextGen and SESAR programs, ensuring harmonized modernization of US and European ATM systems.
• ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization)global partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerSESAR contributes to ICAO Global Air Navigation Plan (GANP) and Aviation System Block Upgrades (ASBUs) for global harmonization.
• FTTS (Fundación para la Investigación y Desarrollo de las Tecnologías de la Seguridad)research partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner in AWARE project developing Artificial Situational Awareness (ASA) system with AI components for air traffic controller support.
• UPM (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid)research partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner in AWARE project contributing AI components for the Artificial Situational Awareness (ASA) system.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• NATS: NATS is the UK's primary air navigation service provider and an active SESAR 3 JU member contributing operational expertise and remote tower pilots. As a leading European ANSP deploying SESAR solutions operationally, NATS is a directly comparable peer in the institutional delivery chain.
• Eurocontrol: Eurocontrol is both a founding funder and strategic partner of SESAR 3 JU and operates the European Network Manager function for ATM. It is the broader incumbent institution coordinating European air traffic flow management and central to delivering the operational environment in which SESAR solutions deploy.
• DSNA (Direction des Services de la Navigation Aérienne): DSNA is France's air navigation service provider and a key SESAR 3 JU ANSP member. Comparable to NATS and DFS, it is a major operational deployment partner for SESAR solutions in continental Europe.
• Thales: Thales is a leading supplier of ATM systems (radar, surveillance, control centres) and a key SESAR 3 JU industry member contributing CNS solutions. It represents the broad incumbent commercial supplier through which many SESAR-validated technologies are industrialised and deployed.
• DFS (Deutsche Flugsicherung): DFS is Germany's air navigation service provider and a key SESAR 3 JU ANSP member. As one of Europe's largest operational ANSPs deploying SESAR solutions at scale, DFS is a directly comparable institutional peer.
• ICAO: The International Civil Aviation Organization sets the Global Air Navigation Plan (GANP) and Aviation System Block Upgrades (ASBUs) that frame SESAR's work. SESAR explicitly contributes to GANP/ASBUs, making ICAO the broader incumbent coordinator for global ATM modernisation.

Direct peers

• Frequentis: Frequentis is an Austrian supplier of voice communications and information systems for ATM and public safety, and a SESAR 3 JU industry member. It commercialises controller working positions and remote tower integration work that directly originates from SESAR R&D.
• FAA NextGen: The US Federal Aviation Administration's NextGen programme is the closest functional peer to SESAR 3 JU, coordinating ATM modernisation research and deployment in the United States. Both programmes pursue trajectory-based operations, performance-based navigation, CNS modernisation and AI integration, and maintain a formal cooperation arrangement for transatlantic interoperability.
• Indra: Indra is a Spanish-headquartered ATM systems vendor providing control centre, surveillance and tower solutions across Europe and Latin America. As a key SESAR 3 JU member, Indra directly translates SESAR research into deployable commercial ATM products, making it a tightly coupled commercial peer.

Others

• Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking: Clean Aviation JU is a sibling EU institutional public-private partnership under Horizon Europe focused on decarbonising aviation through new aircraft technologies. It shares the same EU PPP governance model, co-funding logic and industry membership overlap with SESAR 3 JU, making it a structurally and operationally analogous peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SESAR_JU
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/SESARJU
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sesar-joint-undertaking

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SESAR 3 JU