OSLO, Norway, 6 Sept. 2009. Northrop Grumman Park Air Systems Ltd. in Oslo, Norway -- as one of the four member companies forming the North European Air Traffic Management Industry Group (NATMIG) -- has been awarded funding from the European Community and EUROCONTROL to participate in a research program to streamline and modernize air traffic control (ATC) in Europe.
Park Air Systems, the Northrop Grumman Corp. Norway-based air traffic management subsidiary, will receive contracts worth $18.7 million from the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) research to make air traffic in European skies greener, safer, and more efficient.
Park Air Systems will research enhanced surface and air routing, guidance, and tools for conflict detection and resolution. The satellite landing system SCAT1, in operation in Norway, will form the basis for further development to become a global GBAS and global navigation satellite system.
The SESAR program was founded by the European Commission and EUROCONTROL and includes an additional 16 member organizations. SESAR manages the European Commission's research funding in the air traffic management sector and will provide air-traffic controllers with intelligent information systems that will deliver aircraft to their destinations more rapidly, even more safely and in a more environmentally-friendly manner.
Routes will be allocated that allow airspace capacity to be trebled and improve safety by a factor of 10, while reducing the environmental influence of each flight by 10 percent. SESAR will provide research, development and prototypes for area control centers, aircraft surface movement guidance and control systems, as well as satellite navigation systems ground based augmentation system (GBAS).
The contract was awarded following an international competitive tender process. The contract is due to be completed by 2016.
"Airport density in Europe is high and European airspace is among the busiest in the world with the growth in flight movements expected to double by 2030, making air traffic control increasingly complex," says Eldar Hauge, managing director of Northrop Grumman Park Air Systems in Norway.
NATMIG was founded in 2007 by four air traffic management companies in northern Europe -- Air tel of Ireland, Northrop Grumman Park Air Systems of Norway, Saab of Sweden, and SINE of Norway -- to create a body that can participate in the pan-European public-private partnership SESAR. The four member companies are equal shareholders in NATMIG.
NATMIG is one of the 16 members of SESAR program, which will focus on the need for modern air traffic management systems that can ensure the safety and flexibility of air traffic over the next 30 years.
For more information contact Northrop Grumman Park Air Systems online at www.parkairsystems.com.
-- Posted by John Keller, jkeller@pennwell.com. www.milaero.com.
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