Visitors to Farnborough can chart progress towards a global satellite monitoring system for aircraft at the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) stand (H3/F1).
NATS is a leading player in the European consortium which is trialling Automatic Dependent Surveillance (ADS). The ADS system harnesses the power of satellite technology, enabling air traffic controllers to monitor aircraft accurately when they are outside radar range.
The consortium is completed by the French ATC Service Technique de la Navigation Aerienne (Sofreavia/STNA) and the Netherlands research agency National Aerospace Laboratory NLR.
With only 30% of the earth's surface covered by radar, there is a huge potential market for the product which began trials in 1992 and is now operational at a test level in 13 commercial aircraft.
Air France, KLM, Lutfhansa and British Airways are involved in the test programme and NATS is giving potential customers the chance to see the system ‘live' here at the Show.
Trumpeted as the future of air traffic management, ADS allows users to feed and gather information directly from an aircraft's on-board flight management system, cutting out the need for radio contact with the crew.
Information is sent via one of four satellites and appears almost instantaneously at the air traffic controller's fingertips.
"The two major benefits of ADS lie in improved safety and increased capacity which are both key issues facing the industry," says project leader Chris Townend.
"The accuracy of the system is such that we would be able to reduce aircraft separation from the current 100km (60 miles) and 2,000ft (600m) vertically, to just 8km and 1,000ft. The implications are enormous."
The ADS system sits on the Aeronautical Telecommunications Network (ATN) which NATS claims is a more secure and quicker alternative to the Aircraft Communication and Reporting System, in place over the Pacific.
The first UK facility will be in Prestwick, Scotland.
Source: Flight Daily News
