Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) technology shows great promise in providing economic and societal benefits across the world. In response to this demand, the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority, as well as their counterparts internationally, has been actively refining its regulations to address the rapidly evolving landscape of UAS technology and applications. One notable development in this regard is the adoption of the Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA), which represents a significant step towards enhancing the safety and regulatory oversight of UAV operations in Australia (Denney et al., 2018).
The complexity of the UAS ecosystem, taking in a plurality of stakeholders, requires a comprehensive approach to assessing both technical and regulatory architectures. The complexity is such that using modelling and simulation, in the form of digital twins of the ecosystem, is likely to be the only way to achieve this comprehensive assessment.
The emergence of digital twin (DT) technology in aviation and airspace is a significant shift towards data-driven, proactive safety management practices. Leveraging digital twins to simulate, analyze, and optimize aviation systems and operations, stakeholders can improve safety, mitigate risks, and foster innovation.
This paper will discuss how digital twins can facilitate the application of SORA in the Australian regulatory context. By synthesising insights from literature on digital twins and their applications, and drawing Thales’ experience in this area, this paper provides a comprehensive understanding of the way in which DTs can be used to enable complex operations, including the associated benefits, challenges, and opportunities. The paper will also consider the broader use of digital twins in the airspace management ecosystem in Australia.