Aireon Announces New Agreement Regarding Space-Based ADS-B Services in West and Central African Regions

Aireon LLC, developer and operator of the world's first space-based global air traffic surveillance system, announced today that it has signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Agency for the Security of Aviation Navigation in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA), which provides Air Traffic Control in 17 African States. ASECNA has become the latest member of a leading group of global Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) that are planning to use Aireon^SM to improve air traffic management across the airspace under their control. As the number of participating ANSPs grows, Aireon is quickly becoming the de facto solution for ANSPs seeking coverage of remote and oceanic airspace worldwide.

Under the MOA, ASECNA will collaborate with Aireon to assess the requirements and benefits of space-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) services in their airspace, which covers six flight information regions (FIR) including the Dakar oceanic FIR that connects Western Africa and Europe to South America and the Caribbean. This agreement includes evaluating the coordinated use of the service in neighboring regional airspace and demonstrating how those capabilities could help to improve aviation operations in ASECNA-managed airspace.

"Our agreement with ASECNA is yet another sign of progress in our vision to serve as a global platform for aviation surveillance and demonstrates the growing momentum of Aireon's space-based ADS-B solution," said Don Thoma, President and CEO, Aireon. "We're excited to work with ASECNA to extend our service to regions in West and Central Africa, and Madagascar, and determine how Aireon's capabilities can address the unique aviation surveillance needs of the FIRs they manage."

"As we continue on our mission to ensure flight safety and efficiency throughout African airspace, Aireon's satellite-based surveillance will significantly improve our surveillance capabilities, while driving internal cooperation in ADS-B standards with neighboring ANSPs in the region such as Brazil," said Amadou Ousmane Guitteye, Director General of ASECNA. "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."

In partnership with leading ANSPs and investors from around the world, NAV CANADA, ENAV, IAA, and Naviair, as well as Iridium Communications Inc., Aireon plans to provide the first opportunity for global air traffic surveillance as early as 2017. The Aireon space-based ADS-B service will complement ground-based air traffic surveillance systems currently in use, by seamlessly relaying position and status information of aircraft flying over oceans, poles and remote regions to air traffic controllers on the ground. This new capability is a quantum leap for remote surveillance, extending air traffic surveillance to the entire planet and unlocking operational efficiencies, reducing fuel costs and enhancing safety in remote and oceanic airspace.