US-India to cooperate on flight navigation systems

As part of efforts to upgrade air traffic management in the country, the Airports Authority of India has launched the process of implementing a critical safety system that uses the global positioning system (GPS) for safe navigation of flights.

This is part of the implementation of the GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) system that would improve air navigation, not only over the Indian airspace but also the airspace over the Indian Ocean region from Southeast Asia to the African shores.

A MoU to implement the ground-based augmentation system (GBAS) as a pilot project at Chennai airport was signed by the AAI and the US Trade Development Agency (USTDA) here recently.

GBAS is a critical safety system that uses GPS for efficient and safe navigation to aid landings, take-offs and surface operations within its area of coverage.

With the implementation of GBAS, India would join a select group of countries which have implemented the technology, an AAI official said.

The GBAS aids landing based on inputs provided through the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) that enables simultaneous landings of aircraft on multiple runways while meeting the precisions of the Category-I to Category-III Instrument Landing Systems.

The signing of the MoU followed the successful positioning of the satellite to operate the GAGAN system that would offer seamless navigation to air traffic over the Indian Ocean and the Indian airspace. AAI and Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) are developing GAGAN.