The
General Civil Aviation Authority(GCAA) of the United Arab Emirates has purchased a Quadrant ADS-B air traffic surveillance ground station as part of its air traffic control automation system upgrade.
The deal was secured by COMSOFT, Qinetiq’s development, manufacturing and marketing partner for the Quadrant ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast) system.
The agreement comes as the US Federal Aviation Administration is considering bids for its own ADS-B system, the first step of the FAA’s next generation air transportation system, known as NextGen.
The Quadrant ADS-B system is part of an integrated solution being proposed to the FAA for NextGen by Raytheon, who lead a consortium that includes Qinetiq. It is widely expected within the air transport industry that ADS-B will be the leading global air traffic surveillance technology in the near future, bringing accuracy, fidelity, safety and cost benefits.
Aircraft equipped with ADS-B technology continuously broadcast location, airspeed and identification information to air traffic controllers. These transmissions are said to provide a highly accurate air traffic picture to controllers and pilots of other ADS-B equipped aircraft.
COMSOFT’s contract with the GCAA of the UAE allows for the upgrade of the UAE’s existing air traffic control system in order to meet the growing demands of the rapidly increasing number of flights controlled by the GCAA. The programme will include the pilot installation and integration of a Quadrant ADS-B system in the Abu Dhabi area before the end of the year.
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