Global Airspace Radar spoke with Marius Münstermann, Vice President Air Traffic Control, Rohde & Schwarz during Airspace World to learn about the importance interconnected solutions to meet the needs of today’s Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs).
The company has a long history in telecommunications industry and is able to leverage this technology into the world of aviation. Whereas some vendors in our industry provide an individual solution and the ANSP brings together best-of-breed technology, Rohde is able to provide a more comprehensive portfolio of products if the customer desires a single vendor approach. What is the best outcome really depends on the ANSPs strategy for technology.
IP Modernisation
If you’re working in the world of Air Traffic Management (ATM), this topic isn’t new. The discussion has been taking place for many years now and ANSPs are now starting or continuing their journey down this path. Marius’ view is that this topic is now accelerating. The amount of advisory and design support for clients to transition to IP is increasing; looking at different options for implementing IP in their networks – radios, Voice Communication Systems (VCS), etc. Although much of the discussion in prior years has focused on VoIP, this is a single service and not the complete solution. An IP infrastructure allows many different applications to be supported.
Different applications, or services, have different priority levels and IP allows the management of this level of granularity. Voice is only ‘a service’ on the network, albeit a mission-critical one. “Voice opens the door to add additional functionality to IP,” added Münstermann.
Telecom heritage
Test and measurement is key to a successful implementation of IP. The quality of the network’s performance needs to be monitored to ensure that mission-critical applications are performing as they should be.
Earlier this year, ANS Czech Republic deployed Rohde’s advanced voice quality assurance (AVQA) system. The system delivers a real-time picture of their operational network quality, enabling continuous monitoring of VoIP quality across the voice communication network. The importance of being able to continuously monitor the network was underscored by Jan Klas, CEO of ANS CR, “I cannot imagine rolling out new Voice over IP systems without such a diagnostic system.”
Through the company’s subsidiary LANCOM systems, they can provide a complete IP network infrastructure within the air traffic control (ATC) solution set if desired. A complete solution could include routers, switches, firewalls, and cybersecurity in addition to the the Certium portfolio of ATC specfic technology. HP servers are also validated for inclusion in the network architecture if desired.
Drones (UAS) – protection and support
Many readers will associate Counter-UAS with Rohde’s solution portfolio. They are currently working with industrial, law enforcement and defence organisations to Intercept drone radio communication links, detect and locate drones and their pilots, and determine drone flight direction.
Another area of focus which may not be widely known is the use of drones for ICAO-mandated instrument landing system (ILS) regular testing. Earlier this year, Techo Sky and Rohde released a case study explaining their first fully automated, ICAO compliant UAV-based VOR and ILS ground inspection solution. The use of drones in this capacity greatly reduces the amount of time required for runway closure and additional cost required to comply.
When looking at the use of drones in an industrial capacity, the industry is only just beginning to explore all of the use cases that are possible. I believe we are still in an educational phase for most industries – how can drones help my business vs protecting my business from drones. I expect to see an increase in adoption as we move towards BVLOS flight. Another topic requiring the telecom network.
It’s always great to catch up with Rohde on the latest evolution of its telecommunications heritage into aviation innovation.
