Safe flying with Rohde & Schwarz? Definitely!

Constantly setting new records in the air requires the best technology

Airspace nowadays is very crowded. Tens of thousands of commercial airliners are constantly en route; on peak days there are 200,000 aircraft flying worldwide. According to all forecasts, air traffic will continue to grow significantly: by 2037, the annual number of airline passengers is expected to double. This increase is attributable not least to improvements in safety and efficiency.

High traffic volumes and the increasingly tighter interlinking of air transport around the world come with challenges. Infrastructure everywhere needs to be uncompromisingly reliable; technologies have to be secured and perfectly coordinated with each other. As a passenger, sometimes you notice this more and sometimes less. Let’s have a look at this in sequence by accompanying a passenger on a flight.

Ready for takeoff 

While the passengers settle in on the plane, the pilot receives information from the tower about the aircraft’s take-off slot. For safety on the ground as well as in the air, it is essential that voice radio communications between air traffic control and the aircraft are absolutely reliable and clear. Air traffic controllers need to know if a transmission is unreadable or unclear to the pilots.

Time flies

During the flight, passengers enjoy the benefits of inflight connectivity: checking emails, putting the final touches on a presentation, and perhaps streaming a movie afterwards. All this goes without a hitch now. In order for WLAN or internet based entertainment content to be available, all transmission and reception devices in and on the airplane must function reliably. This is ensured, for example, by tests and measurements on satellite antennas or WLAN routers. Networks also transmit the airplane’s system monitoring data and information about connecting flights.

Indispensable for on-the-ground safety

With a broad range of leading solutions for safe flight operations, Rohde & Schwarz provides equipment for airports and air navigation centers. Security scanners ensure that air passengers are checked in a prompt and considerate manner, without needing to take off items of clothing, turn around in the scanner or even lift their arms. Rohde & Schwarz security scanners are in successful operation at many international airports.

Convenient solutions for monitoring radio networks enable identification of disturbances and interferences so they can be safely eliminated. With their help, all signals go exactly where they are wanted on densely occupied airport radio networks, without spilling over into other frequency bands.

Digitalization and cybersecurity in flight operations

In the future, all communications systems for flight operations will be digital. On the ground, IP will replace today’s analog connections. In air traffic control, digital systems will ensure better fault safety and relieve the burden on air traffic controllers. An excellent example in this area is the completely IP based communications system developed by Rohde & Schwarz. This system is used, for example, by Iceland’s and Ireland’s air traffic control organizations. It virtually links the airspace control centers of the two countries and makes it possible for them, for instance, to mutually handle tasks in their respective airspaces. All interfaces, as well as hardware and software components, are present fourfold, either physically or virtually. This quadruple redundancy protects particularly well against failure of these components.

In this context, cybersecurity is also becoming increasingly important. Ultimately, internet based communications is secure only when it is adequately protected against manipulation and undesirable interference. In this area as well, Rohde & Schwarz offers a broad spectrum of dedicated solutions such as the session border controller or specially secured routers for network security.