Aircraft tracking firm Aireon has signed an agreement with the Agency for the Security of Aviation Navigation in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA) to provide the company with Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) capabilities
Aireon plans to provide ASECNA, the Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP) for 17 states across West and Central Africa, with satellite aircraft tracking services as early as 2017.
Aireon claims the space-based ADS-B enables aircraft to be tracked anywhere in the world for the first time.
Under the agreement, the companies will assess the benefits of the technology in ASECNA airspace, as well as evaluating its coordinated use in neighbouring regional airspace.
ASECNA covers six Flight Information Regions (FIRs) including the Dakar oceanic FIR that connects western Africa to South and Central America, and Amadou Ousmane Guitteye, director general of ASECNA, believes the technology can drive international cooperation with countries such as Brazil.
Ousmane Guitteye said, “We’re particularly interested in surveillance coverage over remote terrestrial routes within Niamey, Ndjamena and Brazzaville, as well as the oceanic routes in Dakar and Madagascar, and expect that enhanced surveillance in the ASECNA FIR will not only generate efficiencies for the airlines but will also generate significant safety improvements for Africa while reducing the costs of infrastructure for ASECNA.”
