Egis to support large scale demonstrations of new communications infrastructure for European aviation
Egis has been selected to support ESSP with expertise provision, planning, and technical support activities for a high-profile and large-scale Digital Sky Demonstrator - the European Sky Multilink Aeronautical Telecommunications Network (ESMA). The ESMA project addresses the need to increase automation in air traffic management. Co-founded by CINEA and supported by SESAR (the European partnership tasked with the digital transformation of European air traffic management), it has received over Euros 11 million in Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) funding and will run over the coming three years.
The demonstrator will show how a multilink communications infrastructure with a focus on datalink using satellite communication (SATCOM Datalink) alongside VHF Data Link (VDL) Mode 2, can support greater levels of automation in air traffic management. Specifically, the project will demonstrate benefits such as cost-efficiency, greater coverage, capacity, and resilience.
SATCOM is already an important component of aeronautical communications, particularly for oceanic airspace, where it enables significant surveillance improvements and related fuel savings to airlines. SATCOM is expected to be equally important for continental airspace and the future communications infrastructure. One of the main benefits of SATCOM technology is its coverage area: all European states can benefit from it with minimal ground infrastructure changes, while global coverage (essential from the airline perspective) is also being planned for the mid-term.
Egis will provide expertise and technical support, contributing to requirements specifications, technical assessments, performance analysis and reporting. Additionally, Egis will support ESSP in the coordination of workshops with key stakeholders in order to present ESMA’s outcomes and main achievements on a yearly basis.
Photo : Julien Pratx, Egis Aviation Director, France and Charlotte Neyret, CEO ESSP signing the ESMA Digital Sky Demonstrator support contract at Airspace World, 19th March 2024.
