ASECNA and Indra to enhance landing safety within 17 african airports

Indra, a leading global technological engineering company for the aerospace, defence and mobility sectors, has been awarded a major contract for the supply and installation of air navigation systems in Africa for 15 million euros. The company will deliver its Normarc instrument landing system (ILS) and distance measuring equipment (DME) to 17 airports in 12 countries, all operated by ASECNA.

As a turnkey project, Indra is responsible for delivering hardware, installation, commissioning, and training. Deliverables include 12 DMEs, 18 localizers and 14 glide paths, the two latter being the basic elements of an ILS. Indra will also provide navigational aids to ASECNA’s Maintenance Laboratory in Senegal and conduct comprehensive technical training of Air Traffic Safety Electronic Personnel (ATSEP) both in factory and on site. 

Indra is a global leader within navigational aids and is widely recognized for its technical competence and professional customer service. This was key in securing the contract for ASECNA.

“We have extensive experience with Normarc aids to navigation. The systems are known to be very robust and reliable. In some airports, we have had the systems in operation for more than 20 years”, comments Mohamed Moussa, Director General of ASECNA. “Access to Indra's technical expertise through the test benches installed in its NAV maintenance laboratory and the educational platforms for practical training for the delivery of ATSEP qualifications, are also of great added value for us. We know that we can continue to benefit from the necessary support in the long term.”

“We are a leading supplier of ILS and DMEs to the world’s airports, but this contract is something special. The scope of deliverables is huge. It is also the first time we take end-to-end responsibility of the installations for ASECNA. We are delighted to be trusted once again by our longtime partner.” comments Eldar Hauge, CEO of Indra’s subsidiary in Norway.

ILS and DME are radio navigation systems that guide aircraft safely to the ground during landings. An ILS provides the aircraft with lateral and vertical guidance to the runway. The DME measures the distance between the aircraft and the runway threshold. Indra will implement its system in different airports in Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar, Mauritania, Chad, Togo, Burkina Faso and Senegal (DTI Training centre).