Urban air mobility company EHang Holdings has completed a series of flights using its EH216-S electric vertical take off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, supported by the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), Europe's satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS). The flights were conducted at EHang's UAM centre in Europe, inside Lleida Alguaire International Airport (LEDA) in Spain, in the frame of the European Union Agency for the Space Programme's (EUSPA) SAMVA project.

The SBAS Adoption in Multicopter VTOL Aircraft (SAMVA) project, focuses on the implementation of EGNOS satellite-based operations on eVTOLs, to enhance advanced air mobility services and U-space airspace integration. EGNOS allows more accurate positioning and provides an additional layer of safety for the flights of EH216-S pilotless eVTOL in Europe.

Supported by SAMVA, EGNOS services were tested and validated, through different exhaustive flight campaigns performed with EHang's EH216-S pilotless eVTOL, using specific Required Navigation Performance (RNP) flight procedures and navigation integrity concepts, leveraging EGNOS technology, performance and integrity features.

EHang's UAM centre in Europe was inaugurated in October 2023. The centre constitutes a global benchmark in the effective integration of eVTOL aircraft operation with airport infrastructure, air traffic management systems, operational procedures and other information technologies.

Victoria Xiang, COO of EHang Europe and Latin America, comments: “EH216-S's pilotless flights under the SAMVA project showcased how EGNOS' precise and integer navigation guidance can support and enhance unmanned aircraft system traffic management tasks and unmanned eVTOL aircraft operations, and thus enable safe and efficient advanced air mobility.”