India's airspace to benefit from advanced surveillance tech

India is now equipped with the technology for advanced surveillance of its entire airspace by operationalising 21 stations having surveillance technology for tracking aircraft -- from the Himalayas to the high seas.

The sophisticated Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B) infrastructure covers the Indian subcontinent's vast landscape of over 3 million sq.km, plus parts of Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the entire Himalayas, allowing increased efficiency and safety in areas where radar coverage has so far been restricted.

The ADS-B was installed at 21 sites in two phases by Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Germany-based firm COMSOFT, which has been providing products for innovative surveillance and communication solutions like ADS-B and multilateration sensors for over two decades.

COMSOFT's Quadrant ADS-B sensor installed here now is a lightweight and cost-efficient alternative to the conventional radar, with the ability to build a complete air situation picture from airport surface to well beyond 250 nautical miles, a company statement said.

With the country's air traffic experiencing growth from both international and domestic flights, placing it among the top five nations for flight increases, the need for greater efficiency and accuracy was paramount to assist with capacity rises, AAI officials said.

Indian Air Traffic Controllers would now experience greater enhancements for approach and take-off procedures, including for international high-altitude traffic, particularly in non-radar airspaces like in the Bay of Bengal.

India's vast airspace would benefit immensely from the long-range surveillance solutions, heightened efficiency and safety in all operational procedures while supplementing radar coverage which is limited by terrain and obstacles, the COMSOFT statement said.

AAI has also established a crucial air navigation link with Nepal for exchanging real-time data on various aviation- related aspects, including weather charts and aeronautical maps.

The link, called Air Traffic Service Message Handling System (AMHS), was operationalised between Mumbai and Kathmandu on June 2 by AAI's Air Navigation Services (ANS) Directorate, its officials said.

In Asia, AMHS links are so far being operated between Hong Kong and Macau since 2009 and between Singapore and India since 2011.

Operational trials are underway to establish similar global links with countries like China, Thailand, Pakistan and Bangladesh which would enable complete operationalisation of the AMHS network in the Asia-Pacific region.

AAI, which manages 125 airports, also provides air traffic management services over the entire Indian air space and adjoining oceanic areas with ground installations at all airports and 25 other locations to ensure safety of aircraft operations.