Project name: Multilateration

Project type: Local – Surveillance

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

The CAPEX plan submitted in 2003 identified the need for the performance of multilateration trials in order to have the technology certified for operational use in ground surveillance, TMA and area segments.

With the current drive by ATNS and the CAA to enforce the carriage of transponders, ATNS started investigating more cost effective alternatives to rotating MSSR systems. Multilateration systems are based on the well known concept of triangulation used extensively in the communications industry.

One of the major advantage of a multilateration system is the fact that there are no rotating mechanical components, and a single rotating system being a single point of failure, as is normally found in radar systems. The antennas used are small and stationary making it easy and cost effective to install at remote sites. The soft fail feature of the system goes without saying. In addition no specially prepared sites are required as normal already established infrastructure in safer areas are normally utilized.

The accuracies achieved with this technology are also very attractive. Sub-meter accuracies have been achieved on operational airports where sufficient and optimal spaced receivers were deployed.

Due to the cost and compactness of the equipment, many such receivers can be installed, thus overcoming the problem of obstructions that is normally found on airfields and the surrounding terrain.

In investigating the market for multilateration system providers ATNS identified two major players. SENSIS Corporation and ERA/SEEE.

To expedite the installation of a trial system and keep cost to the minimum ATNS it is proposed that a system be procured from ERA to provide ATNS with a trial solution at FACT.

PROJECT SCOPE

The project / trial scope consists of the following activities:

• ERA performs complete and thorough testing of all units, modules and subsystems interconnected to form the whole delivered system to demonstrate the system’s compliance with all the operational and performance requirements of customer's specification.
• The System tests include network or site-to-site interfaces and functional tests as necessary to prove compliance with the requirements of customer specification.

Two types of tests will be used:

• Test run of a vehicle equipped with Mode A/C and S transponders. The vehicle will go through runways and taxiways and other points of interest (defined in SAT Procedures document)..
• Flight trials of an aircraft equipped with Mode A/C/S transponder (take off, flight at various FL, landing).
• Measuring and evaluating of targets of opportunity moving inside the coverage volume in the frame of regular airport traffic. For this case the output system data could be evaluated using local surveillance data obtained from other sources.

During all procedures the standard MSS output information will be recorded. The acquired data will be mostly off-line evaluated regarding to a reference system data. As a result of this process will be the verification of precision, timing, system integrity parameters and the system coverage. Other system parameters, e.g. probability of detection and identification, will be off-line evaluated by statistical methods.

The formal process for certification of operational use in ground surveillance, TMA and area segments will run in conjunction with the actual trials for the duration of the project.