Thales RSM NG secondary radar selected by Luchtverkeersleiding Nederland to strengthen Air Traffic Control at Schiphol Airport

Thales has signed a contract with Luchtverkeersleiding Nederland (LVNL), the Dutch Air Navigation Services Provider for the delivery of the RSM NG digital Secondary Surveillance Radar with increased performance and reliability for safer air traffic management. Thales’s RSM NG radar will replace Schiphol airport’s current secondary radar with no interruption of service, reinforcing Air Traffic Control at one of the Europe’s busiest airports.

As air traffic increases, air passengers’ safety does not start in the sky, it starts as soon as the airplane is on the ground and air traffic controllers need to know an airplane’s position at all times to ensure security and passenger safety.

The RSM NG is the newest generation of Secondary Surveillance Radars from Thales. Secondary radars are responsible for providing data for the proper management of air traffic by sending interrogations to the transponder of the aircraft, which then responds to the radar with their identification information, position, speed, and other characteristics. This allows ground controllers to have even more accurate information about the aircraft's location in the airspace.

Thales’s RSM NG secondary surveillance radar goes beyond Monopulse Secondary Surveillance Radar (MSSR) architecture by including Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B) technologies within the same sensor. Because the ADS-B receives the information emitted by aircraft once per second (e.g. Identification, altitude, speed, velocity, projected path, etc), it provides air traffic controllers with accurate aircraft information. The result is a state-of-the-art meta-sensor that merges different levels of data (up to 2, 000 aircrafts and 64 simultaneous data outputs), in order to provide accurate and continuous information that contributes to meeting the aircrafts’ 3 NM separation.

In a highly competitive market, Thales was selected for its capability to provide a cutting-edge radar, high detection performances and a trustworthy replacement plan with fast installation of the secondary radar, involving no interruption of service in a complex high traffic dense environment.

To be delivered and installed at Schiphol airport in less than a year, the RSM NG radar contract includes training to LVNL personnel, spare parts, and maintenance of the radar for a duration of 15 to 25 years.

Thales has been working with LVNL for more than 30 years contributing to Air Traffic Control and securing the airspace with Air Traffic Management solutions, radar equipment and navigation aids.

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