Rohde & Schwarz equips Central American airports with communications technology

COCESNA, the Central American aviation safety service provider, and Rohde & Schwarz have agreed on a long-term cooperation within the framework of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The first concrete projects include equipping Ilopango Airport in San Salvador with a complete communications system and the delivery of network enabled ground stations comprising more than 200 software defined air traffic control (ATC) radios in the six COCESNA member countries.

Rohde & Schwarz, one of the world's leading turnkey solutions provider for ATC communications, and COCESNA, the Central American aviation safety service provider, have agreed on extensive technical cooperation under a long-term framework contract. COCESNA manages the airspace of the six member countries – Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The airspace borders on Mexico in the West and Panama in the East, and also includes significant portions over the Caribbean Sea and the South Pacific Ocean.

As a first project, Ilopango Airport in San Salvador will be equipped by the end of 2018 with a fully integrated ATC communications system, consisting of R&S VCS-4G IP based voice communications system (VCS), Controller Working Positions (CWPs), R&S Series4200 stationary ATC radios and supplementary components such as voice recorders,  emergency radios and antennas. A second project comprises additional 240 R&S Series4200 software defined radios to be installed in 32 remote sites and airports across the six member countries for en-route control and ground-to-air communication.

Both investments mark the beginning of COCESNA’s modernization program, migrating from legacy equipment to a fully digital and network centric ATC infrastructure on the ground, which will be enabled by the fully IP-based Rohde & Schwarz solutions. The technical capabilities and the possibility of cooperation in other fields in the ATC market segment were decisive factors for COCESNA choosing Rohde & Schwarz as a trusted partner.

Both partners intend to deepen the cooperation by reaching agreements on additional safety-relevant solutions for air management services (AMS) operators such as radio direction finding systems, security scanners, drone detection systems and test and measurement equipment for air navigation systems, all of which form part of the larger Rohde & Schwarz portfolio.