Lockheed Martin in talks with AAI for deploying wind measuring

American aerospace and defence major Lockheed Martin is in talks with the Airports Authority of India for possible sale of a wind measuring system that could help the public sector airports operator handle greater traffic.
It is also in talks with the Indian Meteorological Department for the same, industry sources said.
Called the WindTracer light detection and ranging (LIDAR), it is a wind and aerosol measurement technology used worldwide to improve aviation safety and efficiency, aid in defence and security operations, measure wind resources, and perform meteorological research.
Lockheed Martin and the AAI are looking at the possibility of using the system at the congested Mumbai airport, sources said.

The two, however, could not be contacted for comments.
"The technology can be used to accommodate more air traffic by providing more air space as currently the planes are kept at a wider distance during landing which leads to more time in air and wastage of time and fuel," the sources said.

Severe weather conditions at airports, especially wind shear, present huge risks for aviation safety.
Wind shear is a sudden change in wind speed and direction over a short distance and is hazardous due to its impact on aircraft control.
Known to be the root cause of numerous accidents, what is required is concise information on sudden wind shifts that could affect aircraft handling on the approach or take-off path and is critical to air traffic safety.

WindTracers have been applied in life-critical operations for over a decade to provide warning of hazardous winds in real-time for millions of flights worldwide and measure aircraft wakes for hundreds of thousands of flights in the United States, Europe and the Middle East.
WindTracer was first deployed at Hong Kong International Airport in 2002, and now successfully operates at airports in Bangkok, Dubai, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, London, Munich, New York City, Osaka, Paris, San Francisco, and Tokyo.