European aviation security

Europe's air traffic system is clogged, inconsistent and outdated; hence, Europe has invested heavily in the Single European Sky solution. One branch of the development, the project called SESAR, addresses technical measures for safety and fluidity.

The EU-funded GAMMA (Global ATM security management) project will extend the work carried out in SESAR 1 by taking a holistic approach to assessing ATM security, defining a complete European security management framework. Additionally, the 19-member consortium will design, build and test a prototype system. The project will consider interoperability with American systems, and will conclude after four years in August 2017.

Work commenced with a comprehensive assessment of security threats and vulnerabilities likely to affect air traffic management (ATM) systems. The assessment followed SESAR's methodologies, so as to yield comparable results.

The project has defined an ATM security framework considering the European institutional environment in which it will operate.. This stage involved questioning various European military organisations to take on board the military perspective.

During the first year, researchers also started defining the ATM security architecture. Work involved developing and refining threat models and identifying requirements for the GAMMA solution. The architectural work was performed adopting the SESAR tools so as to facilitate its integration and adoption in future SESAR activities. Finally, the group created a dissemination plan.

The GAMMA project is on its way to finalising a Europe-wide system for identifying and managing threats to aviation security. The work extends that of the SESAR project, ultimately leading to safer and more integrated European aviation.