Leonardo attends World ATM Congress to present a vision of secure and efficient air traffic management backed by innovative technology

Leonardo is attending the World Air Traffic Management Congress, the sector’s foremost annual event, in Madrid from 12 to 14 March 2019. The Company will take the opportunity to showcase its most innovative ATM technologies and lay out how they will contribute to safer, more efficient air traffic management in the future.

At the heart of Leonardo’s innovation in ATM is an understanding of how urban mobility has evolved, developed during the Company’s years of leadership in the sector. In this context, Leonardo is involved with a range of innovative solutions to current and future needs, one of which is a drone traffic management system, being co-developed with ENAV, which will integrate unmanned aircraft into commercial airspace. Another is LeadInSky, Leonardo’s own advanced air traffic control system. With a scalable, flexible and modular software architecture, LeadInSky can integrate ADS-B data from Iridium Next satellites, improving the efficiency and safety of the routes. LeadInSky is also one of the few systems on the market to offer virtualised air traffic control services. All this means that in the near future, it will be possible to deliver air traffic management remotely from dedicated data centres, with services being provided to tablets and smartphones: a cost-saving and environmentally friendly way of providing “air traffic management as a service”. In Leonardo’s vision of future ATM, users will also be able to rely on the Company’s digital remote towers. These will allow for the control of low-traffic airports from remote operations centres, guaranteeing safety while optimising the use of manpower and maintenance.

Leonardo will also be highlighting the factors which underpin safe and effective ATM. One of these is the importance of cyber resilience. This is all part of the Company’s "secure by design" approach, which includes the use of technologies based on artificial intelligence and Blockchain, essential for the protection of critical infrastructure such as airports.

The Company will also be presenting its innovative customer support and training portfolio, which includes solutions tailored for air traffic operators, based on augmented and virtual reality. The Leonardo Augmented Reality Assistant (LARA) is an example of effective post-sale support and the Company also offers training packages which are based on the use of immersive reality.