The European drone industry stands at a critical juncture where regulatory frameworks are rapidly evolving, yet the technical standards needed for seamless integration remain largely undefined. At the forefront of this challenge is Unifly, a Belgian UTM (Unmanned Traffic Management) company that has been pioneering drone traffic solutions since 2015. As part of the Terra Drone Group, Unifly is not just adapting to regulatory changes—it is actively shaping the standards that will govern how drones and traditional aircraft share European airspace.
For this interview, we spoke with Youri De Bondt, Technical Lead and UTM Standards Expert at Unifly. With nearly a decade at the company, from its startup days to its current position as a key player in the Terra Drone ecosystem, De Bondt offers unique insights into the technical challenges of building aviation infrastructure from scratch, the critical importance of international standards, and why he believes we are experiencing a “once in a lifetime opportunity” to reshape aviation.
< Profile: Youri De Bondt>
A 41-year-old aviation enthusiast and full-stack software developer, Youri De Bondt joined Unifly in 2016 when the company was still in its infancy. Initially recruited as a software developer through a colleague who became the company’s CTO, De Bondt has evolved into one of Europe’s leading voices in UTM standards development. He actively participates in major standards organizations including, EUROCAE, ISO, and ASTM, representing Unifly in the critical work of establishing technical frameworks for drone integration. Based between Antwerp and Brussels, he balances his technical expertise with family life as a father of two.
LinkedIn：linkedin.com/in/youridebondt
Q. Can you share how your journey led you from software development to becoming a UTM standards expert?
A. My main interest has always been in aviation—I am a fan of everything that flies. May it be airplanes or drones, anything that’s in the sky fascinates me. When a colleague of mine joined Unifly as CTO in 2016, it immediately got my attention. Here was an opportunity to get into aviation through drones, which was completely new territory.
What really triggered my interest was the ability to start something new—a new company in a new sector with a totally new software platform. When I heard that we had to build everything from scratch, it was like music to my ears. I did not really doubt joining Unifly; I just did it.
About two years ago, I started focusing more on standards because we realized that with the new European regulation requiring platform certification, we need standards—but there are not many standards yet. So we are in this really important phase globally in the UTM industry where we need software standards, so if there is communication with key players in the industry, we could collaborate to improve ATM (Air Traffic Management) and other systems.
Q. What does your role as a standards expert involve on a day-to-day basis?
A. I join standards development organizations like EUROCAE in Europe, and we have also joined ISO and ASTM in America, though I mainly focus on Europe since that’s the most urgent. I participate in work groups where we discuss technical standards, mostly for integration with other UTM systems or ATM systems.
What is interesting is having discussions with multiple partners and companies that share the same interests—other ANSP (Air Navigation Service Providers) and various stakeholders. This helps me and Unifly understand what the market needs, which I can then address in our R&D projects to see what we need to standardize and what will be needed five to ten years ahead.
I try not to work solo. Every week we have what we call an architecture meeting where all interested developers join, and I give presentations about what I am working on—like network identification standards—and ask for advice and opinions from the team.
Q.What sets Unifly’s UTM system apart from competitors in the market?
A. I think we are getting known for being very active in standards groups—everybody in those groups knows Unifly, and people start asking us questions when they want to know something about standards. That is definitely a strength.
But the real power of our UTM system is that we can handle diverse and evolving regulations. Our system is not built for just one use case or hard-coded to specific rules. Since entering the UTM world in 2015, we have adapted to a wide range of regulatory frameworks across Europe, giving us a deep understanding of the complexity of airspace regulations and the needs of various stakeholders. From the start, we have also designed our system with automation and drone autonomy in mind, ensuring it is ready for the future of unmanned flight.
This makes our product super flexible—not only for Europe but for the entire globe. We can handle all regulations because our software is very adaptable. That is really our core strength.
Q. How do you balance individual expertise with team collaboration in your work?
A. For R&D projects, we always work as a team. Sometimes, because we are a smaller company with a lot of demand and requests, I might start a project alone, but when work needs to get done, I use the team to help with software development or just to discuss and get their opinions.
For standard work, so far it is just me, since other team members are working hard on commercial projects with high-demand customers. But I constantly communicate what I’m doing internally. If you get to know me, I talk a lot—I spread the word so everybody knows what is happening and can ask questions or say they want to be involved.
That is one of the strengths of Unifly internally—if somebody shows interest, they just talk to each other, and we make sure they can join meetings or stay informed. It is not that I am the only one who can do this work; everybody can do it. We are very open, but of course, we need to share our time.
Q. How has the integration with Terra Drone Group affected Unifly’s operations and culture?
A. Obviously, having Yuki and Yoshi join our team was a big change in higher management. Ever since the acquisition, I have the feeling we have more opportunities now. We acquired EuroUSC Italia, and I think that would not have been possible without Terra Drone.
Marketing-wise, I see a lot of posts on LinkedIn with Terra Drone endorsing Unifly and vice versa. This really helps put both Unifly and Terra Drone on the map worldwide. I think it’s all positive.
I have never worked directly with Yuki or Yoshi, however I did have the opportunity to speak with them. I had an interview with them both right before Unifly joined the Terra Drone group, to present our company and how we see things. I got to know them at least, and that is the advantage of working at Unifly—there’s hierarchy, but everybody can freely communicate with each other.
Q. What are your expectations for Terra Drone Group’s future growth?
A. My expectation is that we can focus together on a higher goal—not only supporting drone operators but also supporting manned aviation, maybe even military applications, just making sure everything is secure in the airspace. I think that is where we can really grow.
I also think consultancy could be important—helping other people and companies grow with us and partner up. Both Japan and Belgium together, we can make a real impact globally.
Q. What message would you share with people interested in joining Terra Drone Group or Unifly?
A. Just join us! I think this is just the beginning of very, very interesting times. What we are doing is so unique—I hope everybody realizes that. We are building the drone industry from scratch in a few years, which took manned aviation 125 years.
The more experts we have, the bigger we are, the more chances we have to really build something like autonomous aviation systems and make a difference in the world. We are not just building software—we are building the future of autonomous aviation.
