Allowing safe co-existence of wind energy generation and air operations

• International renewable energy agreements and national policies are delayed or stopped by civil and military aviation stakeholders
• Wind farms are already creating safety challenges for airspace users or a nuisance for local residents
• Turbine clutter and light mitigation solutions exist but are poorly defined and funded
• A case is presented for ‘Costs Lie Where They Fall’, between policy makers, energy companies and aviation stakeholders

Getting ready for the next decade of investments in ATM modernisation

The aviation community is facing a defining moment. All actors in the network are under pressure to deliver on performance. Decision makers are confronted with difficult “trade-offs” almost daily to push the system to its optimum, reducing cost while increasing efficiency, capacity, access and equity, global interoperability, and delivering on sustainability, security, and safety.
At the same time , thanks to programmes such as SESAR and others, the innovation space in the world has never been so active and productive. The availability of this large wealth of innovations challenges decision makers to make strategic decisions on the right combination of solutions to maximise the impact on performance at local or network level.

How can we prepare for the next decade of ATM transformation ?

Moderated by Eurocontrol , the session will address these issues in a distinguished panel format composed of key decision makers in the ATM domain. The audience will hear from key players on a major development in the ATM domain and how they can get ready for the future.

Modernizing CNS Infrastructure through an End-to-End Managed Service

ANSPs today face increasing pressures to deliver safety alongside the need to tackle capacity constraints, increase efficiency, and prevent delays, while addressing climate change through reduced CO2 emissions. With passengers and airlines expecting better services, ANSPs need new business models to overcome these pressures and allow them to migrate from a traditional operator model to a more “service provider” model.

This new model to procure and accelerate ATM CNS modernization is now being adopted by several large ANSPs. The model addresses the funding gaps, provides required skills / knowledge transfer and brings several other benefits such as enabling the ANSP to focus on its core business of providing safety and efficiencies to its users. This model is often referred to as a managed CNS services model.

This session explores the challenges and benefits of moving to a managed services model.

Non-Rotating Radar Antenna Technologies

Non-rotating antennas (also known as Active Electronically Scanned Arrays – AESAs) have been around for some time, but mainly as the preserve of expensive military radar systems. Advances in digital signal processing technologies and the commercial availability of high frequency RF components are enabling the development of innovative radar antenna solutions.

Intelligent algorithms are the key to making the advanced capabilities of former military systems available to the civil radar market and even improving on them, while at the same time being able to market these solutions at a competitive cost.
Advanced data processing allows the implementation of multiple beam scanning options such as continuous electronic rotation, confirmation look-backs and sector scanning. Beam configurations are theoretically unlimited. Useful applications will be the use of dual beam configurations, azimuth offset for longer dwell times, higher update rates or combined surveillance/tracking beams.
Non-rotating antennas have the obvious advantage of being much easier to maintain than parabolic antennas. There are no rotating elements to maintain and periodically replace, and the effects of wind and other weather conditions are far less detrimental to the overall performance of the system. A non-rotating antenna system is also much easier to install and can integrate power electronics and distribution, making it even more powerful.

One of Intersoft Electronics key design objectives is to make its non-rotating antenna technologies available to the civil market at a similar capital cost and reduced life cycle cost compared to conventional mechanically rotating antenna systems.

New Space-based Surveillance solution

The EURIALO-ESA funded project targets to support and facilitate the provision of satellite-based solutions for ATM. This novel European satellite-based surveillance system named Eurialo will have the mission to provide complementary ATM surveillance services on a global basis, and independently from other systems (EG: GNSS; ADS-B).

EURIALO intends to design and demonstrate the viability of a novel system that uses a satellite constellation to track aircraft by determining their exact position based on different times of arrivals of radio frequency (RF) signals, a technology known in the aviation industry as multilateration (MLAT). The project covers the validation of critical satellite-based technologies relevant to ATM surveillance with an in-orbit demonstrator covering target service areas and a preliminary assessment of key performances for the end-to-end system including ground ATM elements.

Today, tracking systems rely on self-reported positions of aircraft, which are derived from GNSS satellites. The need for an additional complementary space solution will provide a fully reliable and resilient surveillance solution completing the European CNS infrastructure. By independently verifying the location of a plane through geolocation MLAT technology, the EURIALO project will provide the most advanced and reliable system for aircraft surveillance, with the ability to track a plane in real time from takeoff to landing anywhere in the world

EU Space for advanced air mobility moderated

May Virtual Tower Operations become real!

Remote Towers are in operations and Remote Tower Centers (RTC) becoming more and more. ATCOs are not bound anymore to the airport location they provide ATC for but you can bunch them in RTCs and thus create a lot of synergies and other beneficial side effects. But, think about having the complete controller working position including out-the-window view and all other needed CNS system in a virtual environment. Not in cave but in wireless state of the art virtual reality glasses. You are not even bound to an RTC. You can do ATC wherever the glasses are or wherever you have internet access. Apart from Germany (I am kidding) almost all over the world! You can do the night traffic from Melbourne from Geneva at day time. You can control the only flight at night from home avoiding to ride to the ATC tower at your airport in the middle o the night. You can call for an assistance ATCO during an emergency. And you do not care anymore about hardware maintenance because apart from the glasses there is no CWP hardware anymore. How far are we right this way? By this talk we introduce a prototype to you and want to discuss this scenario with you!

Solving a Decades-Old Problem: Dynamic Military-Civilian Airspace Sharing

For more than two decades, at-scale sharing of airspace between military operators and ANSPs to enhance training and readiness, and mitigate airspace congestion, respectively, has eluded industry.

An early-stage U.S. company, Airspace Data, is building and deploying technology to achieve this long-sought objective. Led by industry veterans, and with a focus on providing measurable value for all stakeholders, especially those on the front lines, Airspace Data launched with Southwest and Delta in summer 2023 (saving more than 1 million pounds of CO2 to date) and is expanding with additional airlines and in the U.S. and Europe in 2024 and 2025.

Its solution – called Dynamic Airspace Sharing – provides tools to military range commanders, air traffic controllers, and flights dispatchers. The company’s tools support filing and flying through special-use airspace, and enhanced military access when needed to fulfill training and readiness goals. Material reductions in flight times, operating expenses, and CO2 emissions will be achieved.

Unlocking Value by Unlocking Airspace: Dynamic Airspace Sharing for ANSPs, Militaries, and Air Carriers

Airspace Data is building and deploying tech to automate and secure real-time airspace-status sharing between military operators and ANSPs. Its approach to Dynamic Airspace Sharing is sustained engagement with all stakeholders, primarily frontline range commanders, controllers, and dispatchers. The company’s tools support filing and flying through special-use airspace, and enhanced military access when needed to fulfill training and readiness goals. Material reductions in flight times, operating expenses, and CO2 emissions will be achieved. The company launched a proof of concept with two major U.S. airlines in June 2023; to date more than 1250 flights have been successfully completed, saving more than 750,000 pounds of CO2. The briefing will be provided by Justin P. Oberman, CEO & Co-Founder, who has more than 25 years of industry experience including as a co-founder of TSA after 9/11 where he worked closely with all key stakeholders.

Higher Airspace Operations – Space Traffic Management

DG DEFIS is launching a legislative initiative to develop a framework on safety, resilience and sustainability of space traffic management (STM) under the Union Space Programme. This initiative is following the joint Communication by the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on the EU approach to Space Traffic Management that was adopted in February 2022 and that was supported by the European Parliament and by the EU Member States. In the said Communication, STM encompasses the means and the rules to access, conduct activities in, and return from outer space safely, sustainably, and securely.

DG DEFIS recently launched a targeted stakeholder consultation on the EU legislative initiative on safety, resilience and sustainability of space activities (“EU space law”): The ATM community was invited to contribute to that survey to express the views of the ATM community, in particular related to the impact on air traffic during the phases of transit (launch and re-entries). EUROCAE offers full support to a European approach to space traffic management, in line with our members needs.

This panel shall discuss latest developments expected for higher airspace operations and space traffic management.