NAV CANADA to Deploy Saab Sensis Multilateration System at Calgary International Airport

The Saab Sensis multilateration system will provide complete coverage of the runways, taxiways and terminal areas of the airport for improved all-weather surface situational awareness. In addition, NAV CANADA will be deploying Saab Sensis VeeLo NextGen vehicle locators for the surveillance of vehicles operating on the airport surface.

Calgary International, Canadas third busiest airport, currently uses a Surface Movement Radar (SMR) for surface surveillance. As part of this project, surveillance data from the Saab Sensis multilateration system will be fused with the SMR data for seamless, continually updated surveillance. In addition, the location and identity of vehicles equipped with Saab Sensis VeeLo NextGen units will also be incorporated into the air traffic controllers surface display.

Saab Sensis multilateration is a field-proven airport surface surveillance technology, said Kim Troutman, NAV CANADA Vice President, Engineering. The addition of Saab Sensis multilateration and vehicle locators at Calgary will complement existing surface movement radar to give NAV CANADAs air traffic controllers improved situational awareness. This will help meet NAV CANADA and the Calgary Airport Authoritys goal of improved efficiency.

Saab Sensis multilateration uses multiple low-maintenance, non-rotating sensors to triangulate aircraft locations based on transponder signals to provide air traffic controllers with precise aircraft position and identification information regardless of weather conditions. With a higher update rate and greater positional accuracy than traditional radar, Saab Sensis multilateration provides effective surveillance for increased safety, capacity and efficiency of ground and airspace movements. By employing advanced processing techniques, a Saab Sensis multilateration system uses the minimal number of sensors for a less complex, lower lifecycle cost solution. Additionally, each multilateration sensor deployed by Saab Sensis supports Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B), providing an infrastructure that is ready for todays surveillance needs and tomorrows avionics.

NAV CANADA continues to select Saab Sensis multilateration for surface and wide area applications, as Calgary will become the fifth Saab Sensis multilateration deployment in Canada, said Ken Kaminski, vice president and general manager of Saab Sensis. Saab Sensis surface multilateration is an economical, adaptable solution that can easily accommodate future airport growth or the integration with a Wide Area Multilateration system for complete terminal area surveillance.

VeeLo NextGen is a small, lightweight device in a rugged, weather-resistant enclosure that is attached to the exterior of an airport vehicle to provide air traffic controllers with situational awareness of vehicles operating on the airport surface. The vehicle locator attains its position from a Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS)-enabled Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver and broadcasts its location and identity using the Mode S Extended Squitter ADS-B message format. VeeLo NextGen automatically turns off when the vehicle travels outside of the movement area, ensuring an efficient use of available aviation spectrum.

Saab Sensis continues to be the multilateration provider of choice for NAV CANADA, with Wide Area Multilateration systems in Fort St. John, Kelowna and Vancouver Harbor and surface surveillance at Montreal Pierre Elliot Trudeau International Airport. NAV CANADA has also deployed Saab Sensis ADS-B in Hudson Bay and on the East coast of Canada.

Saab Sensis Corporation provides the defense and aviation markets with advanced sensor technologies, next-generation radars, automation, modeling and simulation solutions. The company serves military, civil aviation, airport and airline customers in more than 35 countries across six continents.