ERA signs contract with DFS to install WAM system for CTR Hamburg in Germany

ERA has been awarded a contract to install its Wide Area Multilateration (WAM) system in the control zone Hamburg (CTR Hamburg). The contract was signed by ERA and DFS, the German air navigation service provider (ANSP), and officially announced at Airspace World on 21 March 2024.

As part of the MaRS-Project, DFS is establishing the requirements for the supply of a multiple sensor multilateration and ADS-B system for the CTR Hamburg. MaRS stand for Modernisation and Replacement of Surveillance Infrastructure. The CTR Hamburg is located in the north of Germany and covers an area of roughly 1,424 km². ERA, which has worked with DFS since 2000, won a demanding tender this February.

“The main goal is to improve the surveillance infrastructure to support the safe, orderly and expeditious movement of aircraft approaching Hamburg Airport and the airport of Finkenwerder as well as aircraft flying through the controlled airspace of the CTR Hamburg,” stated a MaRS project manager at DFS.

There is a high density of air traffic in the area. This is due to two busy airports: one international with 13.6 million passengers annually and one serving the Airbus SE factory, which transports its products by air. In addition, a drone testing polygon is located nearby. The WAM system will provide surveillance coverage of Hamburg Airport´s terminal manoeuvring area (TMA) up to 25 nautical miles and from flight level 50 (up to 5,000 feet) and down to low altitudes down to the ground.

ERA’s modern surveillance system MSS-5, a composite system of multilateration and ADS-B technologies, will consist of a network of ground stations. MSS-5 not only complies with the latest European ATM standards but has also been specifically certified for the German market by the German Federal Supervisory Authority for Air Navigation Services (BAF).

The system will be installed at the existing infrastructure within the perimeter of the two above-mentioned airports. DFS is providing detailed information about possible sites and the ERA team will carry on-site survey immediately after signing the contract. The completion of the MaRS project is planned for 2026.

“DFS is one of our reference customers and ERA has installed a dozen of such systems in Germany. There are surface monitoring MLAT systems by ERA functioning at airports in Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig, Dusseldorf, Stuttgart, Cologne, Braunschweig and Berlin, as well as in Langen. On top of that, our latest joint project of implementing a network of ADS-B stations will provide DFS with a system covering almost the entire airspace over the country. Thanks to the newly signed contract, we can deepen our cooperation even further,” stated Ondřej Chlost, ERA Managing Director.

Hamburg Airport is a major international hub, located 8.5 km to the north of the city centre of Hamburg.