Rohde & Schwarz shapes the future with LDACS
The aviation sector is currently facing significant challenges, including coping with increases in global air traffic and achieving ambitious sustainability targets in terms of emissions reductions. As a major efficiency enabler, the digital transformation of air traffic management (ATM) is the foundation for sustainable growth of aviation.
LDACS (L-band Digital Aeronautical Communication System) is a new air-to-ground communications standard for air traffic control (ATC) communication system that offers a significant increase in bandwidth. It allows modern IP-based datalink communications, an important technology within the future communications infrastructure for aviation. LDACS offers additional security functionalities and can integrate navigation and surveillance services in addition to ATC communication services (CNS integration).
It is being developed and validated the SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking, a collaborative effort between industry, ANSPs, and research organizations, making significant strides in the development and validation of the Digital European Sky. This ambitious project aims to accelerate the delivery of a more efficient and interconnected European airspace through research and innovation. One of the key initiatives within the SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking is the Future Connectivity and Digital Infrastructure (FCDI). Its primary objective is to enhance the maturity level of the LDACS airborne implementation. Another crucial project is the Making I-CNSS a Reality (MIAR). MIAR will conduct flight tests to demonstrate how LDACS can enable optimized navigation of aircraft in real time, exploring the utilization of multiple non-GNSS technologies to provide an integrated navigation solution. LDACS airborne radios will provide highly accurate distance measurements to available LDACS Ground Stations (GS) based on accurate timing measurements down to Nano-seconds.
LDACS is a digital broadband radio link that enables a connection between an aircraft and the terrestrial infrastructure, just like in cellular telephony. This secure, scalable and spectrum efficient data link with embedded navigation capability is the first truly integrated CNS (communications, navigation, and surveillance) system. LDACS is being standardized by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and first flight tests with Rohde & Schwarz demonstrators have successfully validated LDACS capabilities also during real flights. Large amounts of data can be exchanged in real time, like flight trajectories, flight plans, sensor and maintenance data. This will ultimately enable new ATC concepts like the upcoming four-dimensional (4D) trajectory-based operationsconcept and sectorless flying, both of which bring the environmental benefit of reducing emissions of CO2 and therefore the impact on climate change via optimal routing and lower fuel usage.
Rohde & Schwarz, with its decades of experience in VHF, UHF and HF communications, which are used by aircraft pilots as well as air traffic controllers, is best placed to drive the future of LDACS.