Enhanced surveillance data monitoring for Icelandic airspace

Isavia ANS, Iceland’s Air Navigation Service Provider, has selected Frequentis Comsoft to upgrade its radar data monitoring system (RMD) to the latest solution, RAPS-SMD, which will enable further accurate monitoring of surveillance data, including ADS-B and WAM, and improve the air situation picture.

The reliability and accuracy of surveillance data is critically important for safe and efficient air traffic management (ATM). Air traffic situation in Iceland is provided by both radar and a country-wide ADS-B network, provided by Frequentis Comsoft Quadrant sensors. Losing access to surveillance data in one section of airspace can significantly reduce air traffic control (ATC) capacity. It is also important to have early knowledge of any issues which could negatively affect the quality of data provided to controllers to allow preventative measures; either excluding problematic data sources or activating alternative ones.

“The flight information region of Iceland is vast, and we have increased surveillance accuracy with ADS-B. It is therefore important that we have a state-of-the-art monitoring and analysis tool to exchange and make optimal use of all available sensor data for a seamless, accurate and reliable air situation picture. Having trusted the previous Frequentis Comsoft system, we were confident that the upgraded solution would continue to meet the needs of our service.”, says Arnar Thorarinsson, Manager ATM Systems, Isavia ANS.

Frequentis Comsoft has been working with Isavia ANS since 2013, equipping Iceland with Quadrant sensors to provide additional ADS-B coverage for the country and support a transatlantic surveillance corridor. The project also won the ATC Janes award in the enabling technology category. The company also provided Isavia with the next generation of surveillance distribution system (SDDS-NG) and the EUROCONTROL ARTAS surveillance data tracker. The latest upgrade has met all of the specific requirements of Isavia ANS, providing best performance and functionality.

“Our solution provides Iceland with real-time sensor observation combined with continuous technical recording, automated data export and offline post-event analysis. This enables increased accuracy and improved evaluation. It is great to be working with Isavia ANS again, supporting their goals for enhanced airspace surveillance.”, says Thomas Hoffman, Managing Director Frequentis Comsoft.

The RAPS-SMD is part of the RAPS product family and has a graphical front-end for technical and detailed display of the air situation, based on real time or replayed data, including target and service messages in ASTERIX format. In real-time mode it computes and presents targets from radar sensors, trackers, ADS-B receivers, multilateration (MLAT) systems, and is able to plot/track the air situation picture (ASP), and display and compare multiple surveillance sources simultaneously, as selected by the user. The data on up to 64 communication channels are observed in real-time in order to produce user notification and alarming in case of important critical events in the surveillance infrastructure.