ATNS CEO Nozipho Mdawe.
South African State-owned Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS) and aviation surveillance technologies company Aireon have signed a cooperation agreement to advance space-based automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) products and services in the Southern African region.
Aireon has deployed a space-based air traffic surveillance system for ADS-B-equipped aircraft throughout the globe. Under the partnership, ATNS will support Aireon’s objective of expanding the use of ADS-B data to other countries in the region.
They will work on providing operational case studies on ADS-B for countries in the Southern Africa region, as well as exploring regional air traffic flow management (ATFM) opportunities.
Additionally, ATNS, which began using Aireon data in air traffic operations in June, will explore the expanded use of Aireon products and services, including Aireon Locate for search and rescue operations, AireonFLOW for ATFM, AireonINSIGHT, safety data analytics and billing.
“This agreement further codifies the very productive working relationship between two industry leaders, bringing together two best-in-class innovators. Aireon is excited to explore this ATNS partnership to support efforts to bring the operational, safety and environmental value of ADS-B to the region,” said Aireon CEO Don Thoma.
“ATNS is one of the early adopters of Aireon’s space-based ADS-B service and the agreement marks a major milestone in our commercialisation agreement signed in 2016,” said ATNS CEO Nozipho Mdawe.
“Armed with this capability backed by Aireon, we are well positioned to continue contributing to regional solutions geared towards seamless airspace operation in the Africa and Indian Ocean region,” she said.