Enhanced navigation on the horizon as EGNOS V3 initial service performance receives nod from stakeholders

Airbus Defence and Space as EGNOS V3 system provider and a panel of space and civil aviation experts have recently passed a major milestone during which initial service performance was successfully reviewed.

Used to improve the performance of navigation satellite systems for the most safety-critical applications such as aircraft navigation and landing, the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) is Europe's regional Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS). This new V3 generation of EGNOS, currently under development by Airbus, will introduce new services based on multiple frequencies of multiple constellations (GPS, Galileo), and will embed sophisticated security protection against cyber-attacks.

The assessment of the system performance for initial services highlighted the high level of maturity of the design and its adequacy to flawlessly continue the provision of critical navigation services, such as precision approach and landing everywhere in Europe, irrespective of whether the airports are equipped with expensive instrument landing systems (which is often not the case for smaller ones). The review confirmed EGNOS V3 will deliver the accuracy, continuity, integrity and availability required for Safety-of-Life operations up to  Cat.I - with margins.

“At this stage of the development, this performance review has demonstrated the increase in benefits which EGNOS V3 should bring to Europe,” said Didier Flament, Head of EGNOS & SBAS Division at ESA. “As the full power of this new EGNOS generation has still to be qualified in the following phase of the project, this first important milestone of the Detailed Design phase has met our expectations on all legacy aspects assessed. We look forward to the next steps, as we are confident that EGNOS V3 will deliver as required.”

In addition, using both Galileo and GPS signals to monitor ionosphere-induced position errors increases the availability of the service in the western and southwestern periphery of Europe. This expands the area in which satellite navigation landing becomes possible without requiring dedicated ground systems.

“The consolidation of EGNOS’ service area will be beneficial to our customers, as it will support their satellite navigation-guided operations to even more destinations,” commented Hugues de Beco, head of ATM Programs within Airbus Commercial Aircraft. “Airbus is very pleased to support the growth of EGNOS users in commercial aviation in Europe with the recent certification of the SBAS Landing Systems on Airbus A320 and A330 families. We continue to support the development of any system which will contribute to a safer and more sustainable air traffic.”