First Of Several Upgrades Planned At U.K. Airports

Northrop Grumman Corporation’s U.K.-based air traffic management subsidiary, Park Air Systems, have supported National Air Traffic Services (NATS) with a total overhaul of their ground-to-air radio communication system at Heathrow Airport. This is the first of several planned replacement programs at U.K. airports.

The Park Air Sapphire system is now live and supports main, standby and emergency operations supplying reliable, safe and clear communications between pilots and air traffic control staff at the U.K.’s busiest airport.

The new generation of Park Air T6 radios are at the heart of this system. Heathrow airport is the first airport to gain safety case approval to operate the latest T6 series radios from the Sapphire product portfolio.

The Park Air T6 radio is a highly capable radio fully compliant with EUROCAE Interoperability Standards for VoIP ATM (ED-137). The T6 radio is designed to meet stringent environmental demands with significantly lower power consumption and no hazardous material, meaning lower end-of-life disposal costs.

The Park Air Sapphire system at Heathrow also includes MARC Server, a configurable browser-based control and monitoring system allowing management of all the Sapphire assets from remote desktops or tablets.

NATS engineers received training at the Park Air Academy, a new purpose built training centre at the company’s facility near Peterborough, U.K. The Park Air Academy offers the latest in blended learning, with practical courses centred on system design, implementation and maintenance alongside modules on ATC communications theory.

Iain Harris, NATS director of Service Operations said, “This is a very important programme for NATS, and we are delighted that London’s Heathrow Airport is to be the first Park Air Sapphire replacement programme in the U.K.”

Danny Milligan, managing director, Northrop Grumman Park Air Systems, added, “We have enjoyed a strong and productive relationship with NATS for many years and are very happy they chose us to support them with such a major programme. We look forward to seeing the Park Air Sapphire system in use at this airport.”

(Image provided with Northrop Grumman news release)

FMI: www.northropgrumman.com