PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 9, 2024--
This strategic partnership with Avinor, the Norwegian air navigation service provider and airport operator, will enable the deployment of Norway’s next-generation nationwide Unmanned Traffic Management system. This collaboration represents a major step forward in Norway’s airspace management, combining innovation with strict regulatory compliance. It also signifies a key milestone for Thales in the integration of AstraUTM, a recently acquired leader in cutting-edge UTM software development.
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With its newly released product Topsky - UAS powered by AstraUTM, Thales will provide a safe and scalable digital platform for automated UTM and future AAM (Advanced Airspace Mobility). This system will efficiently manage air traffic in the vicinity of airports and metropolitan, suburban, and regional areas, offering capabilities such as compliance monitoring, authorisation management, real-time decision-making, continuous airspace surveillance, automated conflict resolution, and rapid response to dynamic conditions.
Ensuring safety and compliance in Norwegian skies
Avinor’s new UTM system aims to provide essential services for various stakeholders, including drone operators, air traffic service providers (ATSP), government agencies, and other key players in Norway in relation to the low altitude airspace management. The system will meet regulatory standards as specified in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/664, alongside the Acceptable Means of Compliance and Guidance Material for U-space management, ensuring that all services meet the highest standards of safety and operational transparency.
This UTM system will integrate safe, efficient and predictable access services such as the Common Information Service (CIS) and U-space Service Provider (USSP) provisions, ensuring complete regulatory compliance in U-space designated airspaces.
Enabling efficient UAS operations at scale nationwide
Through the implementation and management of a nationwide UTM system, Norway will benefit from robust unmanned traffic management solutions that support the diverse requirements of both civilian and governmental stakeholders. The system will deliver advanced real-time data sharing, streamlined and automated airspace access, and enhanced situational awareness to enable operations at scale in Norway’s dynamic airspace environment for all operators in the manned and unmanned airspace.
"We are honored to collaborate with Avinor to bring this nationwide UTM system to life in Norway, prioritising safety, innovation, and, naturally, regulatory alignment. Together with Avinor, we embrace the development of BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) services in non-segregated airspaces, enabling technologies that make it simple and economical to perform safe, repeatable and scalable commercial UAS operations. Our UTM solutions, recently enhanced with AstraUTM, a Thales company, reflect Thales’ commitment to advancing airspace management and setting the foundation for safe and integrated air mobility," said Christian Rivierre, Vice-President Airspace Mobility Solutions, Thales.
"At Avinor, we are proud to be an active contributor in developing uncrewed aviation in Norway. Partnering with Thales on this next-generation UTM system reflects our dedication to advancing uncrewed operations in Norwegian airspace. This system will support Avinor’s role in ensuring the safe and efficient integration of drones, providing oversight, and managing airspace responsibly. We are excited to work with Thales as a strategic partner to deliver a solution that benefits all airspace users and supports air traffic services in managing drone operations," stated Mats Bye Gjertsen, Vice-President Avinor Drone Programme.
About Thales
Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global leader in advanced technologies specialized in three business domains: Defence & Security, Aeronautics & Space, and Cyber & Digital.
It develops products and solutions that help make the world safer, greener and more inclusive.
The Group invests close to €4 billion a year in Research & Development, particularly in key innovation areas such as AI, cybersecurity, quantum technologies, cloud technologies and 6G.
Thales has close to 81,000 employees in 68 countries. In 2023, the Group generated sales of €18.4 billion.
About Avinor
Avinor is a wholly-owned state limited company under the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications and is responsible for 43 state-owned airports.
Avinor has taken a leading role in reducing climate gas emissions from the aviation industry, including the development of electric aircrafts and supplying sustainable jet-biojetfuel.
Avinor provides safe and efficient travels for around 50 million passengers annually, half of which travel to and from Oslo Airport.
Over 3000 employees are responsible for planning, developing and operating an efficient airport and air navigation service. Avinor is financed via airport charges and commercial sales. The air navigation services is organized as subsidiary wholly-owned by Avinor. Avinor's headquarter is in Oslo.
Drones flying in Norway, image generated by AdobeFireFly, December 2024 (Photo: Thales)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States launched a second round of airstrikes on Iran into Thursday morning after U.S. President Donald Trump warned that Tehran would “pay the price” for stalled negotiations, and Iran responded with strikes targeting Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.
The new U.S. assault across multiple Iranian cities came as efforts to negotiate an end the war again appeared stuck, with Iran insisting it would maintain its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, which has disrupted global energy supplies and sent oil prices higher. The American attack appeared more intense and wider than the day before, but Iran released little information on the extent of the damage.
Kuwait closed its airspace for several hours because of the Thursday morning attack, but did not elaborate on any damage. Jordan didn't acknowledge the attack, though the U.S. Embassy in Amman warned about it. And in Bahrain, its Interior Ministry said an 11-year-old girl had been hurt and cars and homes were damaged by “falling debris” from interceptions targeting the Iranian attack.
The third back-and-forth strikes this week have tested a two-month shaky ceasefire. The first were attacks between Iran and Israel on Sunday into Monday, followed by the two rounds of fire between America and Tehran.
Trump has urged Iran to sign a deal to end the war and suggested earlier this week that an agreement could be reached in days.
But Iran has proved resilient despite weeks of heavy bombing. It is betting that its ability to effectively close the Strait of Hormuz — a crucial passageway for oil and natural gas — gives it a strong bargaining chip.
Still, both countries seem to be looking for a way to end the conflict — if they can manage to sell it as a win at home.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears intent on pursuing goals that make compromise harder: the collapse of Iran’s theocratic government, the elimination of its nuclear program, and the destruction of the Iranian-allied Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon.
The U.S. Central Command said its latest round of airstrikes ended just before sunrise Thursday in Iran. The military command said the strikes came “in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression” and targeted “Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems and air defense sites.” It did not elaborate on the damage done by the strikes, which it said were carried out by the U.S. Air Force, Marines and Navy.
Explosions from the strikes echoed around Iran’s capital, Tehran, as well as the port city of Bandar Abbas and other southern areas along the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard later said sites hit by the Americans included a manufacturing complex, a military barracks and a local Guard base outside of Tehran.
Iran responded by launching strikes on Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan for a second day.
Israel early Thursday also warned residents in the north to seek shelter after the detection of suspected incoming fire from Lebanon.
Since the U.S. and Israel started the war with Feb. 28 attacks on Iran, the conflict has shaken the global economy, driven up energy prices and made food and other basics more expensive.
The international benchmark for crude oil traded above $93 a barrel on Wednesday, up more than 25% since the start of the war.
Trump said the U.S. military has since last month undertaken a “secret mission” to sneak oil shipments past Iran’s forces in the Strait of Hormuz. He said ships were slipping through at night, aided by the destruction of Iranian radar equipment.
Trump said as a result more than 100 million barrels of oil have evaded Iran’s chokehold on the strait. There was no immediate confirmation of that figure, which roughly equals five days of oil shipments through the waterway before the war began.
The military’s role was not immediately clear. The U.S. Central Command on Wednesday disputed Iran’s claims that the Strait of Hormuz is closed, saying commercial ships are continuing to transit in and out.
Wary of high gas prices in the run-up to midterm elections in November, Trump seems to be looking for a quick win. But he is also making demands that will be tough for Iran to swallow.
The U.S. wants to see Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. While Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, that uranium is a short technical step from weapons-grade levels.
Iran is refusing to give up the uranium and demanding relief from sanctions. It also wants the release of frozen assets even before a final agreement is in place, something Trump rejected.
Iran has insisted that any deal to end the war must also end fighting between its ally Hezbollah and Israel.
A Qatari diplomatic delegation, negotiating in coordination with the U.S., left Tehran on Thursday morning after holding talks, said an official with knowledge of the team who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the mediation.
Price and Toropin reported from Washington. AP journalist Victoria Eastwood in Cairo contributed to this report.
A woman adjusts her headscarf as she crosses an intersection in northern Tehran, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A projectile streaks through the sky over central Israel during an Iranian missile attack, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
A man runs past burning cars following an Israeli airstrike in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
A woman walks past a mural depicting a U.S. aircraft carrier under missile attack in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A cleric checks his cell phone on stage in front of a screen displaying portraits of the late Iranian revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, left, late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, center, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, during a pro-government gathering in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
