Future Combat Airspace, ACP-2020-026

Closed 8 May 2023

Opened 6 Feb 2023

Results expected 8 May 2023

Contact

(Airspace Change Sponsor)

Future Combat Airspace

+443001583835

air-airspacetrial@mod.gov.uk

Published responses

View submitted responses where consent has been given to publish the response.

Overview

This online forum aims to provide Stakeholders with the information that they require in order to fully understand the Ministry of Defence's Airspace Change Proposal regarding Future Combat Airspace.

This proposal aims to secure Future Combat Airspace, for use by the UK and coalition partners during occasional, large scale, highly complex, multi-domain collective training exercises that are used to prepare aircrew for operational service. 

Existing Danger Areas, although suitable for routine flying training are of insufficient volume for modern military flying and do not facilitate large force exercises. New aircraft types, weapons and tactics used by the Royal Air Force and coalition partners requires appropriately sized areas to conduct beneficial training.  

This Portal will allow Stakeholders to provide feedback on the airspace options proposed in the Consultation Document. This document and all supporting documentation can be found at the links below. Further information related to this Airspace Change Proposal can be found on the open-source Civil Aviation Authority, Airspace Change Portal website, a link to which can be found at the bottom of this page. 

The Change Sponsor is conducting formal Consultation on Special Use Airspace in the form of a Danger Area referred to as Future Combat Airspace which will be segregated and notified in order to maximise safety for all airspace users.  

CAA Airspace change portal (caa.co.uk)

Why your views matter

The Ministry of Defence would like the views of a wide range of Stakeholders including (but not limited to):

1. Members of the National Air Traffic Management Advisory Council (NATMAC)

2. Aviation Stakeholders

3. General Public

The purpose of this Consultation is to provide an opportunity for all Stakeholders to comment on the proposed airspace design. This feedback will then be collated and analysed by the Change Sponsor, responses will help shape the final proposal that will be submitted to the CAA for consideration. 

The key themes that the Change Sponsor is seeking to answer through Consultation include, but is not limited to, the following:

  • Feedback on the airspace design
  • The possible effect of this proposal (positive or negative)
  • Key concerns
  • Mitigating factors that could be adopted to minimise impact

The Consultation period will commence on 6 February 2023 and close on 8 May 2023.

What happens next

Please note that under Step 3d of the airspace change process, change sponsors are required to publish the categorisation of each consultation response in accordance with the requirements of CAP 1616 (see Paragraph 189 and Table C2). Change sponsors should note that for those responses which do not impact the final proposals, they must “set out clearly why” that is the case. The Step 3d output will typically be captured in an Excel spreadsheet, which should contain the unique ID for each consultation response, the feedback provided (excluding any personal information), confirmation of how it has been categorised and a short summary explaining why (this is particularly relevant for those responses which do not impact the final proposals). To ensure that a consistent approach is applied when completing the categorisation of each consultation response change sponsors should consider establishing appropriate controls/measures, particularly when responding to feedback that is of a similar nature.

Events

  • Face-to-face Waddington Session

    From 6 Feb 2023 at 10:00 to 5 May 2023 at 16:00

    In order to reach those groups that may not have connectivity a face-to-face session will be held at RAF Waddington. This meeting will be scheduled in advance, but can be changed based on the level of demand.

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  • Stakeholder face-to-face meetings

    From 6 Feb 2023 at 10:00 to 5 May 2023 at 16:00

    Key Stakeholders that have been identified during the earlier stages of this process will be asked if they require a face-to-face consultation at a location of their preference.

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  • Virtual Forum

    From 6 Feb 2023 at 10:00 to 5 May 2023 at 16:00

    An online drop-in session will be made available to any Stakeholder upon request. This virtual meeting will cover all aspects of the proposal.

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