SIL deploys upgraded ILS at Donegal Airport
Situated in northwest Ireland and handling over 500,000 passengers annually, Donegal Airport has appointed Systems Interface Ltd (SIL) to upgrade its Instrument Landing System (ILS). The upgraded system is due to be fully operational during 2025.
The project includes the supply, installation, commissioning, training and flight calibration of the new systems, which will replace the original systems installed in 2010. The delivered equipment includes a new Localiser (LOC), Distance Measuring Equipment (DME).
“Having delivered the original system, we had in-depth knowledge of Donegal’s airfield systems,” said David Chandler, Sales and Business Development Director at Systems Interface.
“This positioned us perfectly to implement a cost-effective upgrade by reusing existing infrastructure and avoiding unnecessary civil works.”
In 2023 SIL implemented a similar system at Jersey Airport in the Channel Islands.
The new systems are critical for precision landings in adverse weather conditions with the ILS providing approach guidance via two key components: the LOC, which transmits lateral signals to align the aircraft with the runway centreline, and the DME, which calculates the aircraft’s distance to the runway by measuring the time delay of radio signals exchanged with a ground station.
