ASECNA signs with Thales consortium for secondary radar systems

The air navigation provider for most of the Francophile Arfrican nations signed a $35million contract for the supply and installation of Monopulse Secondary Surveillance Radars (MSSR) with Mode S capability in addition to its Air Traffic Management (ATM) systems. 

Signing the deal at ICAO’s Montreal headquarters, ASECNA director general Amadou Guitteye said that the radars will cover terminal areas for some of the region's 25 international airports. Five terminal areas were already covered. En-route surveillance is provided by automatic dependent surveillance - mode C, with air-ground communication by a combination of VHF radio and satellite-based controller/pilot datalink.

ASECNA provides ATM in six flight information regions, namely Antananarivo, Brazzaville, Dakar Oceanic and Terrestrial, Niamey and N'Djamena, through area control centres at those cities.

The contract also included TCB / ICAO and the Consortium Thales Air Systems SAS / INEO Engineering and Systems is for the equipment and systems to be installed at 11 control centres to improve the quality of air navigation services to users to across the ASECNA-serviced countries.

“This will significantly increase resources to the monitoring of air traffic and the means of communication between pilots and controllers,” the organisation said.

This investment, complements the radar and ATM systems already installed in five centres.

The contract includes all equipment and auxiliary services necessary for the project, providing data links for information distribution radar, radar site facilities associated ATM, and providing all hardware, software (including licenses for use of software), project management services, training and documentation.

MSSR radars will be installed on the following sites: Nouakchott (Mauritania), Bamako (Mali), Bissau (Guinea Bissau), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), Niamtougou (Togo), Cotonou (Benin), Douala (Cameroon), Libreville (Gabon ), Bangui (Central African Republic), Antananarivo (Madagascar), Moroni (Comoros).

ATM systems will be installed on the following sites: Nouakchott (Mauritania), Bamako (Mali), Bissau (Guinea Bissau), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), Lomé (Togo), Cotonou (Benin), Douala (Cameroon), Libreville (Gabon ), Bangui (Central African Republic), Moroni (Comoros), Malabo (Equatorial Guinea)

The programme implementation will be spread over 21 months.

ASECNA also announced an Africa and Indian Oceon (AFI) flight procedure programme (FPP0 programme which is implemented by ASECNA in close coordination with the French DGAC, and the assistance of ICAO. The full commissioning of the AFI FPP program is scheduled for January 2014. AFI FPP Office will be established in the premises of the ASECNA in Dakar.

To make African countries aware of the potential of the programme, ASECNA’s director general met with representatives of African countries to ICAO and African delegates at the 12th World Conference Aircraft currently being held in Montreal.

Amadou Ousmane Guitteye urged African countries to join the program to enjoy the latest technological innovations in the field of flight procedures. He stressed the need for Africans to take ownership of this program, the second of its kind in the world experienced after the first operation conducted under the auspices of ICAO in China on behalf of the Asia-Pacific region.

The ultimate goal of this program is to significantly improve aviation safety in Africa. Countries present at the meeting (Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Swaziland, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa in particular) have expressed their commitment to this program and all indicated their interest in this initiative. They asked ASECNA any effort to start the project as soon as possible.