World’s most advanced Air Traffic Management system LORADS III goes live in Singapore

Singapore, 10 February 2014

Thales Chairman & CEO Jean-Bernard Levy attended the  New Singapore Air Traffic Control Centre inauguration ceremony today, where Mr Lui Tuck Yew, Minister for Transport, and Mr Yap Ong Heng, Director-General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), inaugurated the New Singapore Air Traffic Control Centre (SATCC).  LORADS III is a key system of the new SATCC.

The system was handed over to CAAS in May 2013 and has now assumed full control of Singapore’s airspace following a successful deployment programme. 

LORADS III marks a generational shift in ATM technology. Building on previous successes in the region, including nationwide deployment in Taiwan and ongoing enhancements and upgrades to The Australian Advanced Air Traffic System (TAAATS), it will play a critical role in enabling CAAS to manage significant future air traffic growth in a safer, more efficient and environmentally friendly way. 

The system is ideally suited for Singapore and the region, as not only is Changi Airport the busiest hub in South East Asia, but Singapore is also at a strategic geographic junction, making its airspace one of the busiest in the world for long range air traffic en-route to hundreds of destinations. The country therefore requires a sophisticated system that effectively manages the balance between air traffic on approach to Changi and traffic to other destinations. 

“This strategic programme is the result of the successful collaboration between the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and our experts in order to deliver the world’s most advanced ATM system. As a major hub, Singapore is now future-proofed to meet the high growth in civil transport that is expected.  This is a milestone for Thales in Asia. It is testament that in the choice of critical infrastructure for civil air transport, Thales is the world’s most trusted partner. ”

Jean-Bernard Lévy, Thales Chairman & CEO

LORADS III is based on the Thales TopSky-ATC system, in service in over 130 of the busiest air traffic control centres in the world, making it the most successful air traffic management system for busy airspaces. 

Featuring significant levels of automation and sophistication, the technology and operational concepts of the TopSky-ATC system enable LORADS III to achieve the minimum permitted aircraft separation standards, resulting in quicker landings while enabling outbound traffic to continue on safely without delay, reducing both flight time and emissions. Combined with unprecedented system redundancy for continuous smooth operation, LORADS III provides CAAS with vital business continuity in all situations as well as other additional features developed specifically with Singapore’s needs in mind. The system is designed to meet the exponential increase in the number of flights expected over the coming years.

Key POINTS

  • LORADS III is the most sophisticated ATC system in the world 
  • Ideally suited  for Singapore’s required balance between high volume of take-offs and landings and en route traffic 
  • Based on TopSky ATC, the most proven and  successful system in the world for managing busy airspace

 

About LORADS III
LORADS III integrates state of the art multi-sensor tracking technology, capable of fusing data from radars, ADS-B, Wide Area Multilateration (WAM) and ground sensors with multi-hypothesis filtering, to give controllers a holistic and highly accurate picture of the current operating environment. The system also provides an ADS-C surveillance capability for remote and oceanic areas. 
The centrepiece of the system is Thales’s award-winning Java Human Machine Interface (JHMI) Engine – an advanced display designed in collaboration with air traffic controllers. The high performance configurable software reduces controllers’ workload through new ways of viewing, organising and interacting with flight information. Another key feature is Thales’s next generation Flight Data Processing, which manages gate to gate flight trajectories in 4D, based on aircraft performance.
About Thales ATM 
The world’s largest footprint 
240 TopSky ATM solutions, 7,000 Navaids, 600 radars, 1,600 ADS-B/MLAT stations, and over 16,000 controllers utilising Thales solutions. 
Two out of three aircraft take off, reach their destination and land safely, thanks to Thales.
The world’s broadest product offering 
Thales leads the way in all modes of surveillance, and is able to provide all technologies in the ATM market. In 2013 Thales reinforced its standing by acquiring the ITS business from Egis Avia, thus allowing the group to broaden its capability in the airport infrastructure market and in tools that maximise data flow for airport operators, civil aviation authorities and carriers.
Leader in all 3 major initiatives for the restructuring of global ATM 
As the Number 1 industrial partner to SESAR, involved in NextGen and ICAO Block Upgrades Thales fully integrates all these evolutions in its product roadmap.
About Thales
Thales is a global technology leader in the Aerospace, Transportation, Defence and Security markets. In 2012, the company generated revenues of €14.2 billion with 65,000 employees in 56 countries. With its 25,000 engineers and researchers, Thales has a unique capability to design, develop and deploy equipment, systems and services that meet the most complex security requirements. Thales has an exceptional international footprint, with operations around the world working together with customers and local partners.
Documents
Contact
Civil Aerospace - Giaime Porcu
+33 (0)1 57 77 92 18 giaime.porcu@thalesgroup.com
All articles