Thales was awarded a contract to supply the Qatar Armed Forces (QAF) with a civil integrated airport solution for Al Udeid Air Force Base. This contract award demonstrates the civil and military application of Thales’s highly demanded civil air traffic management (ATM) systems.
This turnkey solution includes a EUROCAT ATM system, a primary (STAR 2000) and secondary air traffic control radar (RSM 970 S), two Instrumented Landing Systems (ILS), two Distance Measuring Equipments, a Doppler-VOR VHF Omni-directional Radio Range system (DVOR) and a TACtical Air Navigation (TACAN) system.
The QAF will benefit from the latest state-of-the-art air traffic management and navigation aid systems available on the market. The EUROCAT air traffic management system ensures safe and efficient operations for en-route, approach and airport movements. Thales has supplied a total of 260 air traffic control centres worldwide, all designed to comply with international standards and meet all customer requirements for enhanced air traffic safety and security for both civil and military applications. The STAR 2000 and co-mounted RSM 970 S Mode S MSSR radar equipment use advanced technology that is continuously improved and updated to remain at the forefront of radar technology. The STAR 2000 and RSM 970 S radars meet airport surveillance requirements, both for en-route and approach.
As part of this contract, Thales will also deliver equipment and spares, the mechanical and electrical installations, flight calibration of the systems, as well as the commissioning and training of staff.
Thales is a world leader in air traffic control systems and civil radars, with a 70% share of the navigation aid systems market. Thales offers an integrated “gate to gate” solution, from the phase prior to take-off right through to landing, in order to guarantee airport security, the efficiency of air traffic management activities, the sharing of aircraft data and the transparency of transfer operations between territories.
Background:
(1) The Instrument Landing System increases safety and reliability and, as a result, enhances the efficiency of approach and landing procedures especially under poor weather and visibility conditions. ILS is a proven system with ICAO Annex 10 Cat. III performance which provides pilots with information to enable guidance during descent and with deviation information from a defined approach path down to and along the runway surface.
(2) The Distance Measuring Equipment system provides pilots with distance information between the aircraft and the location of the DME ground equipment. The system is used for both en-route and terminal area guidance.
(3) Thales’s Doppler-VOR VHF Omnidirectional Radio Range system is particularly well suited to operation under demanding conditions and terrain. The system utilises micro-processor control to provide unequalled accuracy and stability while providing the user with the highest levels of reliability and availability and therefore helping to guarantee safe en-route navigation.
(4) TACAN is a short and medium distance navigation radio aid for military aircraft.
Source: Thales
