Project Bluebird wins prestigious Royal Aeronautical Society award

NATS-led research collaboration recognised for work exploring the future potential of artificial intelligence in air traffic management.

Project Bluebird, the AI research collaboration between NATS, The Alan Turing Institute and the University of Exeter, has been awarded the Royal Aeronautical Society 2026 Bronze Team Medal, recognising the project’s considerable contribution to the advancement of global aerospace.

The award was presented at the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Medals and Awards Ceremony on 9 November. The Society’s medals celebrate major contributions to the advancement of aerospace art, science and engineering, a significant recognition for the Project Bluebird team.

The Royal Aeronautical Society recognised Project Bluebird for bringing together NATS, The University of Exeter and The Alan Turing Institute to deliver two world-first advances in air traffic control research: the development of a high-fidelity probabilistic digital twin and a competency-based framework for assessing AI controllers against human performance standards.

The long-term research programme has brought together experts from across air traffic control, artificial intelligence, mathematics, engineering, data science, safety and human factors. Together they are exploring how AI could safely and responsibly support the future of air traffic management as the airspace environment becomes increasingly complex.

Through the exploratory research, Bluebird is using operational data to explore how new airspace designs could be tested and how AI-based systems might be assessed against the standards expected in a safety-critical environment. The research could prove applications across areas including training, prototyping and airspace design.

Richard Cannon, Principal Researcher at NATS and Project Bluebird lead, said: “We’re incredibly proud to see Bluebird recognised by the Royal Aeronautical Society. This has always been an ambitious research programme, bringing together people with very different expertise to tackle some extremely challenging questions about the future role of AI in air traffic management.

“This medal reflects the scientific and technical contribution the programme has made, as well as NATS’ role in bringing together industry and academia to explore these challenges.

“Most importantly, it recognises the expertise, hard work and commitment of everyone across NATS, The Alan Turing Institute and the University of Exeter who has contributed to Bluebird over the years. It’s a fantastic achievement for the whole team.”

The award adds to growing recognition for Project Bluebird’s research. Earlier in 2026, the project won both the Information, Data & Connectivity Award and the overall Grand Prix at The Engineer’s Collaborate to Innovate Awards.

Pictured L-R: NATS’ Ben Carvell, Marc Thomas, Richard Cannon and John Korna.

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About Project Bluebird: Project Bluebird is a research partnership involving NATS, The Alan Turing Institute and the University of Exeter, exploring the safe and trustworthy application of artificial intelligence in air traffic control.

About the award: Royal Aeronautical Society Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals are awarded to individuals and teams for major contributions to the advancement of aerospace art, science and engineering.