DSNA, the French ANSP, rollout of the N-VCS project in France

DSNA (Direction des Services de la navigation aérienne – the French ANSP) is moving forward with the deployment of the N-VCS (New-VCS) project in France equipping the control centre in Brest. Brest ACC is the first of five DSNA area control centres (ACCs) to be equipped – Bordeaux, Reims, Athis and Aix-en-Provence ACCs will follow.

In May 2011, Frequentis was awarded the contract to deliver a new generation of voice communication systems for control centres within FABEC (Functional Airspace Block Europe Central). The five control centres of DSNA and MUAC (Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre). The market leading Frequentis VCS3020X will be deployed for more than 500 controller working positions to ensure the safety of air traffic control in France and at the Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre.

With the launch in Brest, DSNA has made the first step toward the infrastructure renewal in this region. The N-VCS will replace the existing ARTEMIS system which was provided by the CS-Frequentis consortium (CS stands for Communication & Systèmes) more than 20 years ago. Frequentis and CS continue this relationship with the delivery of the first combined main and backup system in France. The CRNA Brest will be equipped with more than 100 controller working positions and more than 400 IP radio links.

“We have maintained a long-time partnership with DSNA and together managed many changes in air traffic management. We are looking forward to further supporting DSNA through the evolution of future trends in this technology”, says Hannu Juurakko, Vice President ATM Civil at Frequentis.

The N-VCS rollout provides state-of-the-art technology to ensure that DSNA is ready for the upcoming air traffic management challenges in the next two decades:

• Sharing of FABEC-wide communication assets and activities to enable sharing of workload and communication resources for flexible access to radios and telephony lines from any involved control centre. This allows for the unique operational delegation of airspace management responsibility (sector delegation). The standardisation of operational procedures using technical interface protocols between ANSPs, based on the EUROCAE (European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment) standard ED-137B is also a key technical capability.
• Smooth transition from existing legacy systems to end-to-end IP communication services from Frequentis, leveraging IP technology to enhance air-to-ground and ground-to-ground air traffic management communications for control centres of every size.
• A new main and backup concept to provide for the continuity of airspace control without loss of capacity in case of a failure.
• End-to-end IP voice communication fulfilling the needs and technology standards for the next generation of air traffic management.

Maurice Georges, DSNA CEO, said : “Frequentis supports us in modernizing our voice communication systems. N-VCS is a step forward to a better interoperability of both operational and technical activities. It is also an enabler to managing an airspace block such as FABEC. This project matters a lot to DSNA as it is seen as a key element toward the Single European Sky implementation."