Eurocontrol

EUROCONTROL is a pan-European, civil-military international organisation dedicated to supporting European aviation for the Safety of Air Navigation. It has 41 Member States and is headquartered in Brussels. EUROCONTROL is the current Network Manager nominated by the European Commission, and also includes an international operational ATC center in Maastricht, a research center in Bretigny sur Orge near Paris, and a training institute in Luxembourg. Among its many activities, EUROCONTROL is a founding member of SESAR and as such supports projects in the telecommunications domain, notably the Future Communications Infrastructure based on IP, multilink, as well as new and future data links such as LDACS, AeroMACS and Satellite Communications. EUROCONTROL has been contributing and working with the aviation community to what’s currently known as LDACS from the very beginning of Technology Investigations Description of L-Band Datalink system called AMACS (Allpurpose Multi-channel Aviation Communication System) and B-AMC (Broadband - Aeronautical Multi-Carrier Communication). EUROCONTROL continues to work together with the community to progress LDACS standardisation activities at the level of ICAO and appropriately addressing civil-military aspects with systems sharing the L-band. This technology is taking benefit of the latest industrial research that has integrated Secured Communication, Surveillance and Navigation capabilities.

Link: www.eurocontrol.int

Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH

DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH, the German air navigation service provider, is a State-owned company under private law with 5,600 employees (as at 31 December 2019). DFS ensures the safe and punctual flow of air traffic over Germany. Around 2,200 air traffic controllers guide up to 10,000 flights in German airspace every day, more than three million movements every year. This makes Germany the country with the highest traffic volume in Europe. The company operates control centres in Langen, Bremen, Karlsruhe and Munich as well as control towers at the 16 designated international airports in Germany. Its subsidiary DFS Aviation Services offers products and services related to air traffic management worldwide and provides air navigation services at nine German regional airports as well as at London Gatwick Airport and Edinburgh Airport in the UK. DFS has been working on the integration of drones into air traffic since 2016 and has set up a joint venture, Droniq GmbH, with Deutsche Telekom.

Link: www.dfs.de

German Aerospace Center (DLR)

DLR is the national aeronautics and space research center of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its extensive research and development work in aeronautics, space, energy, transport and security is integrated into national and international cooperative ventures. In addition to its own research, as Germany’s space agency, DLR has been given responsibility by the federal government for the planning and implementation of the German space program. DLR is also the umbrella organization for the nation’s largest project execution organization.

DLR has approximately 8000 employees at 16 locations in Germany: Cologne (headquarters), Augsburg, Berlin, Bonn, Braunschweig, Bremen, Goettingen, Hamburg, Juelich, Lampoldshausen, Neustrelitz, Oberpfaffenhofen, Stade, Stuttgart, Trauen, and Weilheim. DLR also has offices in Brussels, Paris, Tokyo and Washington D.C.

In the research area aeronautical communications the institute contributes to the standardization processes within ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) for future digital air traffic control/management communications systems. Moreover, concepts are developed for next generation aeronautical communications. The newly developed aeronautical communications concepts are validated by simulations and implemented in demonstrator hardware for validation through field trials.

In the context of LDACS, researchers from the DLR contributed significantly to the design and the specification of the physical layer.

Link: DLR

Frequentis

Frequentis with headquarters in Vienna, Austria, has been active for more than 50 years in the development and delivery of products for Air Traffic Control (ATC) and the broader aeronautical market. The activities cover self-financed R&D and marketing of systems and products for this specific market.

Frequentis core activities lay in aeronautical communication systems, in particular voice communication systems. The company expertise covers both technological and operational aspects of the whole tactical aeronautical communications chain (voice switch, airborne and ground radio technologies, supporting functions).

Frequentis was the first company that introduced networked ground radio communication infrastructure (Austrocontrol 2002). Frequentis expects and is well prepared for more and more sophisticated requirements upon the ground infrastructure that will emerge as new types of VHF communications system get introduced.

Link: Frequentis

Paris Lodron University of Salzburg

The department of Computer Sciences is a branch of the Faculty of Science of the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg. The Aeronautical Digital Communications group of the department has an ongoing tradition of research in the areas of air traffic simulation and wireless communication network design.

University of Salzburg’s sophisticated simulation tools have been used in a great number of national and international projects and helped to evaluate existing systems and design new ones. The research group was able to establish its expertise in range of relevant topics within the field of aerospace research.

In the context of LDACS, researchers from the University of Salzburg contributed significantly to the overall protocol design and the specification of the data-link layer.

Link: Aerospace Research at the University of Salzburg

Rohde & Schwarz

For 90 years, the Rohde & Schwarz technology group develops, produces and markets a wide range of electronic capital goods. With its extensive product portfolio, the company makes an important contribution to a safer and connected world. In the test & measurement, secure communications, networks & cybersecurity and broadcast & media markets, customers worldwide rely on Rohde & Schwarz and its cutting-edge solutions. In addition to its established business fields, Rohde & Schwarz has made substantial investments in future technologies such as artificial intelligence, the industrial internet of things (IIoT), 6G, cloud solutions and quantum technology. Rohde & Schwarz is among the world market leaders in radiocommunications for a wide range of applications in the aviation sector – from air traffic control (ATC) and airport communications to airline operational communications, radio test and measurement and the calibration of the equipment used. Rohde & Schwarz has been working with research partners to develop LDACS, significantly increasing bandwidth and allowing modern IP-based communications. The long-term goal is complete flight path management from departure to destination exclusively with 4D trajectories for much more efficient and environmentally friendly airspace usage, resulting in lower carbon emissions. Rohde & Schwarz has been involved early in the recently launched Aeronautics Research Program LUFO, “Pave the Way to Digital Aeronautical Communications” (PaWaDACs).This gives the independent, family-owned company a competitive edge in the race for market leadership among LDACS suppliers. In partnership with DLR and DFS, Rohde & Schwarz built LDACS demonstrator devices and carried out flight tests with a DLR test aircraft. Rohde & Schwarz will be able to supply equipment for ground stations and be well-positioned to offer solutions to aircraft manufacturers, integrators and their customers for use on board of aircraft. Link: www.rohde-schwarz.com/certium