19 April 2023

Indra delivers deployable air traffic management systems to RAAF

by Oishee Majumdar

The Lanza 3D medium-range surveillance radar (pictured) is part of two of the three Defence Deployable Air Traffic Management and Control Systems (DDATMCS) delivered by Indra to the RAAF. (Indra)

Spanish technology company Indra delivered three deployable air traffic management systems to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) under the Australian Department of Defence's (DoD's) Project AIR 5341 Phase 1.

The systems, named the Defence Deployable Air Traffic Management and Control Systems (DDATMCS), will enable the RAAF to manage airfield and airspace anywhere during defence missions, as well as during Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations, Indra said in a media release on 17 April.

Indra said that two of the DDATMCS have two operator positions each and are intended for rapid deployment by air, land, or sea for operations of a short duration, such as military assistance during HADR operations.

“This provides the RAAF with a critical deployable capability to safely support incoming flights when air traffic management infrastructure does not exist or has been damaged by disaster or warfighting,” Indra added.

In addition, the two DDATMCS consist of a transportable Lanza 3D medium-range surveillance radar, also developed by Indra. According to company specifications, this radar has an elevation of 2° to 40°, a maximum instrumented range of 60–180 nm, and an antenna scan rate of 3–10 s/scan.

“The systems' [DDATMCS'] surveillance capabilities are [also] complemented by Indra's Monopulse Secondary Surveillance Radar with Mode 5 identification friend-or-foe and ADS-B [automatic dependent surveillance–broadcast] signal reception and treatment system, which supports the early detection of both co-operative and non-cooperative targets,” the company said.

Indra said the radars are fully integrated into a mobile Area Control Centre (ACC) that is equipped with Indra's air automation system for air traffic control.

Spanish technology company Indra delivered three deployable air traffic management systems to the Ro...

Jane's Find unrivaled intelligence, consultancy and advertising solutions to the defence and national security sectors.