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UK establishes new air traffic management hub at RAF Coningsby

By Olivia Savage |

Radar operators have relocated to a specialised hub – TATCC, which will help to monitor critical data. (MoD Crown Copyright 2022)

As part of Project Marshall, radar operators at Royal Air Force (RAF) Waddington have relocated to a new specialist hub at RAF Coningsby, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 12 May.

This is the first of a series of transitions that will involve approach control room radar operatives, from multiple units, moving to a centralised Terminal Air Traffic Control Centre (TATCC), the announcement said.

Project Marshall is a GBP1.4 billion (USD1.7 million) 22-year programme to modernise and replace the British Armed Forces' military air infrastructure. In 2014 Project Marshall was awarded to Aquila Air Traffic Management Services consortium, a joint venture between Thales and NATS (previously National Air Traffic Services).

Radar operators working in the centralised hub at RAF Coningsby will have access to ‘state-of-the-art' radar displays and sensors, enabling them to control with precision and effectiveness. The Visual Control Room will remain active at Waddington, the announcement noted.

At the time of publication, an MoD spokesperson was unable to detail what equipment had been installed at the new hub.

According to the announcement, the move has been made possible by the installation of new air traffic management equipment, delivered in March 2022 at RAF Coningsby, which enables radar, weather, and other data to be transmitted from RAF Waddington to RAF Coningsby.

Radar operators from RAF Cranwell, operating Cranwell and Barkston Heath radar services, will move to the new RAF Coningsby TATCC later in 2022.

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