Article

NAV CANADA is advancing its digital aerodrome air traffic services programme

Mark Cooper

Mark Cooper, Vice President and Chief Technology and Information Officer at NAV CANADA believes that digital facilities provide an opportunity to re-imagine how ATM services will be delivered in the future.

In early 2022, NAV CANADA, Canada’s air navigation service provider (ANSP) introduced the Digital Facilities initiative, which will transform how NAV CANADA delivers service and provides value for its customers, as a pillar of its new major strategic direction.

This initiative will transform how air traffic control (ATC), airport advisory services (AAS) and remote airport advisory services (RAAS) will be delivered at many airports across Canada over the next 15 to 20 years. It will be implemented through the Digital Aerodrome Air Traffic Service (DAATS) programme which has the goal of providing the same air traffic service (ATS) to aircraft operators as they receive today but from a location that is independent of an airport. It will also exploit new technologies in video camera systems, airport sensors, computer displays and other air traffic management systems.

The DAATS programme will use state-of-the-art high-resolution optical sensors, external microphones, and other sensors to capture what is happening at an airport, to provide critical information and situational awareness to air traffic service employees, in place of a traditional out-the-window view. In the development of digital facilities, NAV CANADA will consider the operating environment of each airport, including air traffic volume and complexity, aerodrome layout, airspace users and characteristics to implement the technology at the most optimal locations.

Radar display in air traffic control tower

Digital facilities provide an opportunity to re-imagine how ATS services will be delivered and where we deliver it from. They give us flexibility heading into the future, to address ageing infrastructure and allowing NAV CANADA to respond effectively and efficiently to changes in airport traffic demand. NAV CANADA will leverage technology to continue to provide safe and efficient service levels, increasing resiliency and supporting the aviation industry’s sustainability targets.

The move to digital facilities is not unique to Canada, rather, it is part of a growing global trend and they are being evaluated or deployed around the world at numerous airports. NAV CANADA will continue working on this initiative and remains committed to modernising its operations while ensuring safety remains the main priority. The recent technological evolution and trends in the aviation industry led NAV CANADA to consider safely advancing this initiative to enhance operational efficiencies and increase system resiliency.

ANSPs around the world are really embracing this technology, and Canada – with its vast geography – is the perfect fit for digital facilities. They allow us to be adaptable, resilient and forward thinking, while keeping safety and efficiency at the core of all our operations.

The DAATS concept consists of three main technology elements: airport sensor, a digital facility and the data network. The onsite hardware will include fixed and pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) optical sensors that can track aircraft in the air and on the ground, as well as vehicles and wildlife that could pose a hazard. The live video and data feed, transmitted through secure data networks, will provide an immersive visual presentation of the airfield and surrounding area on a large set of integrated video screens at a digital facility that could be located anywhere in Canada. These screens – along with the other communication, surveillance and Air Traffic Management (ATM) technology expected at a control tower or flight service station – will provide NAV CANADA employees with an advanced technology platform to safely manage air traffic movements on and around an airport. Pilots arriving and departing Canadian airports will receive the same level of service from NAV CANADA employees working in digital facilities as they would from an onsite control tower or flight service station.

NAV CANADA’s DAATS initiative is a multi-year programme and it will be deployed in different phases.

Edmonton Tower

As NAV CANADA completed phase one, some milestones have already been successfully achieved. On 18 January 2023, NAV CANADA confirmed that Kingston, Ontario, had been selected as the provisional site for a new digital facility, which would initially provide AAS to aircraft in Kingston Airport’s (CYGK) airspace. The initial work at the Kingston digital facility over the next couple of years will provide a foundation for creating a potential DAATS hub in Kingston that will provide air traffic services to airports in other Ontario communities. NAV CANADA will also create a test facility in Ottawa with similar technology to support the programme.

"Canada’s ANSP is confident that the DAATS programme will provide the groundwork for enhanced service and safety."

Kongsberg’s digital tower solution in Norway

More recently, NAV CANADA reached a significant milestone and signed an agreement with Kongsberg Geospatial for the provision of DAATS technology across the ANSP’s programme. Kongsberg Geospatial is an industry leader in the research and development of new technologies for Beyond Visual Line-of-Sight (BVLOS) navigation systems for remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) platforms and operator visualisation for remote towers for air traffic services.

Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace, who developed the technology, has successfully deployed Avinor’s NINOX programme, the world's largest remote tower facility in Bodo (Norway), implementing 15 airports in one control centre. In the harsh conditions of Norway, this proven technology is in daily use.

The partnership allows NAV CANADA to develop a digital facility at the Kingston Airport to refine and validate its technology and operating procedures, as well as a test facility in Ottawa as part of early phases of the programme. This work will be foundational to inform future implementations of digital facilities to support other airports across the country.

All in all, Canada’s ANSP is confident that the DAATS programme will provide the groundwork for enhanced service and safety as well as the ability to integrate new capabilities that support more efficient and resilient operations in Canada. NAV CANADA is proud of its success in advancing this major project and is expecting that by the end of this project, servi- ces will be delivered from modern facilities designed for flexibility, sustainability, ease of maintenance, improved contingency management and a reduced environmental footprint. It will also provide a platform to innovate. Future hubs will facilitate common processes and procedures and enable greater rostering flexibility for employee and harmonised training programmes. They will also bring positive impacts to the environment. Safety, as always, will remain NAV CANADA’s top priority as it moves forward in the implementation of the DAATS project in Kingston and, ultimately, across Canada.

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