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NATS, THE UK’s air navigation
services provider (ANSP), has
invested in Aireon, the company
developing a space-based air
tra c surveillance service.
Space-based air tra c
management (ATM) delivered
through Aieron will work through
a network of Iridium NEXT
satellites in low Earth orbit. The
ANSPs who subscribe to the
system will receive position
reports of airliners equipped
with automatic dependent
surveillance-broadcast out (ADS-B
Out) equipment every half a
second. The current International
Air Transport Association
requirement is for position
reports every 60 seconds. Several
major ANSPs and regulatory
authorities have mandated aircraft
are equipped with ADS-B Out
equipment by 2020.
Aireon technology means that
for the fi rst time ever oceans
and remote regions like the
poles, deserts and mountainous
areas will have real-time aircraft
surveillance. NATS says this
constitutes “the greatest revolution
in air tra c management since the
introduction of radar 70 years ago”.
Martin Rolfe, NATS Chief
Executive O cer, says the
technology will have a major
impact on the provision of air
tra c control services. He said:“This is a transformational
technology that will deliver the
world’s fi rst truly global air tra c
control infrastructure, making
fl ying even safer and more
e cient. Investing in Aireon is
the best way for us to shape the
future of the service in a way that
benefi ts our customers in the UK
and elsewhere.”
NATS has announced it is
planning, in 2019, to conduct an
operational trial of the technology
in the North Atlantic, the busiest
area of oceanic airspace in the
world. In 2017, NATS controllers
handled 500,000 fl ights through
this airspace, equating to 80% of all
air tra c across the entire Atlantic
Ocean. By 2030 it is estimated
this number will grow to almost
800,000 fl ights a year.
Without the technology to
monitor fl ights automatically in real
time, aircraft crossing the Atlantic
today follow prescriptive speed
and separation restrictions along a
rigid track structure which, NATS
says, “limits the capacity of the
airspace and forces the airlines to
fl y trajectories that burn more fuel
and generate more carbon dioxide.
Air tra c controllers can only track
a fl ight’s progress by receiving
around fi ve position reports from
the pilot every hour.”
An analysis jointly undertaken
by NATS and the Canadian airnavigation services provider Nav
Canada (which is also part of the
Aireon ownership group) and
endorsed by the International
Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO),
projects an approximate 76%
reduction in safety risk from using
Aireon. NATS says this will enable
it to comply with ICAO’s safety
standards while also meeting the
growth needs of the North Atlantic
and giving airlines more fl exibility in
how they fl y across the ocean.
The company claims using
space-based ATM over the
Atlantic, o ering airlines the
routes they want at a speed that
suits them, would generate a net
saving of more than $300 in fuel
and two tonnes of carbon dioxide
per fl ight, equating to more than
a million tonnes of carbon dioxide
saved every year.
NATS added: “Monitoring aircraft
in real time will also support the
reduction of separation distances
from around 40 nautical miles
to just 15 nautical miles, in turn
making the airspace more fl exible
and with predictable fuel and
environmental benefi ts.”
With the current annual
number of 500,000 fl ights, the
North Atlantic is like an aviation
equivalent of a busy motorway,
so it should prove an ideal test
environment. Moreover, Rolfe
said: “Its routes have now reachedtheir limit of capacity with existing
technology,” and space-based
ATM is “a way to safely fulfi l the
ever-growing demand”.
Don Thoma, Aireon Chief
Executive O cer, said the
enhancements provided by
Aireon’s space-based service in
the North Atlantic “are a game-
changer for the aviation industry
and will connect North America
and Europe unlike ever before”.
The Iridium NEXT satellite
constellation, which will support
Aireon, will consist of 66 low-Earth
orbit crosslinked satellites that,
in Aireon’s words, “blanket Earth
with communications coverage”.
A total of 81 Iridium NEXT satellites
are being built, all of which will
have the Aireon payload onboard.
Currently, 75 satellites are planned
to be deployed, with nine serving
as on-orbit spares and the
remaining six as ground spares.
The constellation is planned for
completion this year.
Marc Courtois, Chair of the
Board of Directors for both Aireon
and Nav Canada, said: “The
technology is real, the system
is already performing beyond
expectations, there are just a few
more launches to go, and we are
eager to start seeing the improved
benefi ts to the aviation industry
and the fl ying public.”
Mark BroadbentNATS invests in Aireon
A visualisation of the tracks across the North
Atlantic on a typical early morning. In 2019, NATS
will start an operational trial of Aireon space-based
air tra c management technology. NATS