Saab to Supply Wide Area Multilateration Systems to NATS in the UK

Defence and security company Saab has been selected to supply NATS, the United Kingdom’s leading provider of air traffic control services, with Wide Area Multilateration (WAM) equipment at two key sites in the UK.

Saab will be providing two WAM systems, the first will provide coverage of the East Shetland Basin oil fields and the main helicopter routes between Sumburgh Airport and the oil fields, and the second system will cover an area east of the windfarm being built offshore of Aberdeen.

Saab multilateration uses multiple low-maintenance, non-rotating sensors to identify aircraft locations based on transponder signals in order to provide air traffic controllers with precise aircraft position and identification information in all weather conditions. With a higher update rate and greater positional accuracy than traditional radar, Saab’s multilateration enables safer and more efficienct use of airspace.

“The Aberdeen and East Shetland Basin WAM projects will be our twelfth and thirteenth installations in the UK with NATS. ANSPs, such as NATS, have recognized WAM as a cost-effective, long-term surveillance solution for traditional secondary radar applications,” says Mike Gerry head of business unit Air Traffic Management within Saab business area Surveillance.

Saab ATM’s expertise spans surveillance sensors, ATC automation, collaborative decision making, and digital towers. Saab’s solutions are trusted by air navigation service providers, airports and airlines across six continents and in more than 100 locations across 45 countries. As a global leading partner and complete provider of proven ATM solutions, Saab transforms operations, turning innovative ideas into reality and supporting stakeholders from solution conception through to long-term support.