Saab’s revolutionary Aerobahn Runway Safety Service is now operational at Nashville International Airport
In less than 90 days after being selected by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) under their Surface Awareness Initiative (SAI), Saab’s Aerobahn Runway and Surface Safety Service is helping air traffic controllers manage operations at Nashville.
For nearly three decades, Saab has proudly partnered with the FAA to provide runway safety solutions across the US, including serving as the prime contractor on the FAA’s Airport Surface Detection Equipment, Model X (ASDE-X) program which is in operation at 35 airports and the FAA’s Airport Surface Surveillance Capability (ASSC) program which is in operation at 9 airports. These programs have been instrumental in maintaining the FAA’s exceptional safety record.
Surface surveillance systems increase runway safety by displaying position, movement, and the relative location of aircraft and ground vehicles to air traffic controllers. Additionally, they provide aural and visual safety alerts of potential runway collision situations. These services are crucial for operations where air traffic controllers´ situational awareness is adversely affected by combinations of visibility, traffic volume and airport layout.
The FAA´s SAI program demonstrates how cost-effective runway safety technologies can help improve safety at airports where budget restrictions have made deployment of traditional surveillance equipment, like surface movement radars (SMRs), difficult.
In the area of airport surface management and collaborative decision making, since its initial launch in 2003, Saab´s Aerobahn platform has been adopted by more than 30 airports worldwide (from some of the busiest hubs in the world, like ATL, ORD, and HKG, to small regional airports like HDN). A huge number airport operator, airline, and ground handler users rely upon Aerobahn daily to improve the safety and efficiency of their operation, making it the most respected surface optimization platform on the market. This success is in support of ICAO GANP ASBU SURF-B0/2 guidance, which recommends stakeholders´ have common access to real-time surface surveillance data as the key element for comprehensive situation awareness for surface operations.
Saab´s recent deployment of their Aerobahn Runway and Surface Safety service at Nashville as part of the FAA´s SAI program is a game changer for airports trying to safely manage their operation without the budget to support the installation and maintenance of an SMR or full-scale Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control Systems (A-SMGCS).
Saab is now in the unique position to provide air navigation service providers, airport operators, airlines, and ground handlers a truly multi-user, multi-mission platform, exclusively fed by cooperative sensors (MLAT/ADS-B). This can simultaneously drive surface optimization functions and automated safety conflict detection and alerting, at a fraction of the cost that was previously possible.