Japan to Test Urban Drone & eVTOL Traffic at Expo 2025 Osaka

Post by : Meena Rani

Japan is taking a major step toward integrating drones and advanced air mobility (AAM) vehicles into urban airspace by using Expo 2025 Osaka as a live testing ground for Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM). The initiative is part of the government-backed Realization of Advanced Air Mobility Project (ReAMo), promoted by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).

From 16 August to 13 October 2025, a pilot UTM deployment will be operated jointly by Intent Exchange, NEC, and NTT DATA. The system will provide unified monitoring of drones and air taxis around the Expo site, offering regulators and industry stakeholders a high-density, real-world environment to stress-test airspace management technologies.

Building the Digital “Air Traffic Control” for Urban Skies

While electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles have drawn significant attention, experts stress that safe and routine urban air operations require robust digital traffic management systems. The Expo pilot aims to validate key UTM functions:

• Geofencing and Geocaging: Establishing virtual boundaries and designated operating zones to keep drones away from restricted areas and ensure adherence to flight plans.

• Remote ID Tracking: Receivers installed around the Expo site will broadcast drone identity and position in real time.

• ADS-B Integration: Low-altitude receivers developed by JAXA will collect positional data from manned aircraft and AAM, relayed through NTT DATA’s Supplemental Data Service Provider.

• Deviation Alerts: Automated notifications of flight plan deviations or incursions, sent to vertiport operators, drone teams, and AAM operators.

The pilot will be executed by a consortium including ORIX Corporation (vertiport operator), SkyDrive (AAM developer), JUIDA, and Blue Innovation (drone traffic management).

Supporting Japan’s Regulatory Framework

Beyond technology demonstration, the pilot is designed to inform Japan’s evolving UTM regulatory framework. Data and insights from the trial will be submitted to the Civil Aviation Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), which is establishing certification standards for UTM Service Providers (USPs).

The government roadmap outlines UTM development in stages:

• Step 1: Base platform under DIPS2.0.

• Step 2: Private certified USPs provide functions such as manned aircraft surveillance and compliance monitoring between filed flight plans and actual operations — the stage exemplified by the Expo trial.

The high-profile Expo setting, which is expected to attract tens of millions of visitors, offers a unique opportunity to validate UTM systems under dense operational conditions.

Global Context and Interoperability

Internationally, NASA and the FAA in the U.S., and EASA in Europe, are conducting parallel UTM development programs. Japan’s pilot demonstrates its commitment to global standard-setting, with a focus on ensuring interoperability for future AAM operations worldwide.

Towards a Comprehensive Urban Air Mobility Ecosystem

The Expo trial exemplifies the collaborative effort required to create a full-fledged AAM ecosystem:

• Digital infrastructure: NEC and NTT DATA

• Surveillance technology: JAXA

• Vertiport operations: ORIX

• AAM development: SkyDrive

SkyDrive has been demonstrating its SD-05 eVTOL from the Expo Vertiport over Osaka Bay, with plans to expand urban test flights from the Osakako Vertiport. Integrating these flights into a live UTM-controlled environment represents a key transition from demonstration flights to scalable, monitored urban air transport services.

Knowledge gained from the trial will also support JAXA’s development of an integrated traffic management architecture, allowing crewed and uncrewed aircraft to safely share urban airspace.

For Japan’s aviation sector, the Expo pilot provides a concrete glimpse into how technology, infrastructure, and regulatory frameworks are converging to make flying taxis and other urban AAM solutions a practical public transport option.

Expo 2025 Osaka, UTM, Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management