HERNDON, Va., 23 July 2013. Officials at Denver International Airport (DEN), Colo., and Lambert–St. Louis International Airport (STL), Mo., have elected to enhance airport surface safety and efficiency with the ITT Exelis (NYSE:XLS) vehicle movement area transmitter (VMAT) solution.
VMAT permits ground vehicles operating on the airport surface to broadcast their positions and uniquely identifiable call signs. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic controllers can view and track the vehicles, as well as appropriately equipped aircraft operating near the airport and on the airport surface. The VMAT solution provides air traffic controllers and aircraft pilots with enhanced situational awareness and a complete picture of airport surface activity to enable greater safety and efficiency for airfield operations.
Forty VMAT devices are currently operational at STL, and 55 VMAT devices will soon be operational at DEN.
The goal at DEN is to bring an additional level of safety during regular and irregular operations, including construction and snow removal, and in critical situations, such as aircraft emergency events. DEN will also use Exelis Symphony MobileVue, a tablet and smartphone-based, real-time situational awareness solution that displays aircraft and vehicles on the airport surface and in the terminal area.
“At Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, we recognized the safety and operational benefits of equipping our key airfield support fleets, such as Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighter, operations, snow plows and maintenance vehicles,” explains Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge, director, Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. “Having a common airfield operating picture for our air traffic controllers and key airport staff is a core component of airport surface operations.”
The FAA certified Exelis VMAT devices as fully compliant with the stringent requirements of its Advisory Circular 150/5220-26. This certification ensures that the devices are properly installed and configured in airport vehicles, properly maintained, and compliant with FAA standards for Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B).
Vehicles operating with VMAT devices have their transmissions automatically detected by FAA ADS-B receivers and delivered to air traffic controller positions for complete airport-wide situational awareness anywhere, anytime.
Airport runway images courtesy Shutterstock.
