Air Traffic Surveillance Ground Station

A new air traffic surveillance ground station has been launched by QinetiQ and Comsoft. The launch of the Quadrant ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast) product follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) by the two companies last year. The Quadrant family of products will ultimately offer ADS-B, TIS-B (Traffic Information Service-Broadcast) and multi-lateration capabilities, technologies that the air transport market believes will bring system-wide operational benefits, by enabling efficient air navigation services and airspace surveillance operations.

The product is based on the generic Quadrant processing board which will be common to the entire next generation range of surveillance products. This will provide the customer with an affordable and scalable solution capable of meeting a variety of surveillance needs.

ADS-B is a methodology whereby an aircraft or other vehicle periodically transmits its position and other parameters for use on the ground or by other aircraft that are equipped with suitable receivers. It will be a key component of the next generation surveillance systems. It also has the capability of supporting advanced automated air traffic management tools such as conflict probes, trajectory predictors, flight path monitoring and tactical planning aids. Quadrant ADS-B provides a cost effective solution to all airspace types and infrastructure requirements.

The concept is possible because of the move towards the universal use of Mode S equipment in both civil and military aircraft. Based on a low cost passive Mode S receiver Quadrant offers both local area and wide area surveillance and combines two surveillance techniques ADS-B and multi-lateration. By combining these two techniques Quadrant is able to deliver high levels of surveillance integrity.

QinetiQ (pronounced ki net ik as in kinetic energy) is an international defence and security technology company that was formed in July 2001 from the UK Governments ­Defence Evaluation & ­Research Agency (DERA).

Comsoft is a medium-sized, privately owned company with its headquarters in Karlsruhe, Germany. The enterprise, established in 1979, has being active in the ATC domain for more than 15 years.