Roberts Flight Information Region (Roberts FIR), located off the west coast of Africa, has selected Aireon’s space-based automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data to navigate and surveil aircraft in the combined upper airspace of its three member States, joining a growing number of African countries opting for the revolutionary product.
The Roberts FIR, which is headquartered in Liberia, is a tripartite organization responsible for the control and safety of air navigation in the combined upper airspace of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, with a total size of 770,777 square km. Each Member state manages its portion of the airspace from the ground to 3000 ft. Mean Sea Level (MSL).
Additionally, Roberts FIR joins other ANSPs in Africa, including ASECNA, ATNS, Cabo Verde, and Seychelles, adopting Aireon data, opening up the great potential to enhance safety with situational awareness across borders. To date, nearly 70 of the African airspace utilizes Aireon data for air traffic surveillance purposes.
More broadly, Roberts FIR is a key puzzle piece for air traffic in the South Atlantic, creating a corridor of FIRs with upgraded visibility and situational awareness of traffic via Aireon’s space-based ADS-B. A similar pattern happened in the early days of ADS-B in the North Atlantic corridor, which enabled ANSP to more closely separate aircraft and carve out more capacity in a busy airspace.
“The ANSPs in Africa has been huge supporters of Aireon and data. They have deployed in very successful ways, and we are thankful to be a part of their safety objectives,” said Peter Cabooter, Executive Vice President of Customer Affairs at Aireon. “The location of Roberts FIR in the Atlantic makes it an ideal airspace to utilize space-based ADS-B. Its oceanic location, in combination with its neighbors being Aireon customers, only increases the potential benefits of Aireon data for the ANSP.”
Roberts FIR said the agreement is expected to deliver immediate benefits to regional cooperation and development, including establishing common operational standards, joint training programs, and integrated procedures across the three member states.
“We are excited to transition to Aireon’s space-based ADS-B platform. It will considerably enhance our record as a safe and reliable ANSP. With other states adopting the same technology, we expect to achieve a seamless sky in the region within the shortest distance future. Moreover, as we share the surveillance data with approach control units at Conakry, Freetown and Monrovia, safety and regularity will be significantly improved around the three international airports within our lateral limits,” said Emil Rogers, Secretary General of Roberts FIR.
