A Case Study of Cooperative Practices in Digitally Enabled Cooperative Operations in Upper Class E Airspace

This paper presents a scenario study on cooperative practices encoded in the automated conflict management of digitally enabled cooperative operations conducted in high-altitude upper Class E airspace, where diverse high-altitude aircraft operate. We modeled cooperative practice behaviors of operators, created scenarios, developed metrics, and conducted simulations using AutoSim, an extensible traffic management (xTM) concept evaluation tool. Our findings provide valuable insights into understanding cooperative operations in a heterogeneous airspace and may have broader implications for xTM adoption in lower-altitude airspace.