Following a contract signing in August 2017, the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) and Thales have now completed the delivery of TopSky-ATC to enhance Tanzania’s air traffic safety and efficiency.
The air traffic management (ATM) system is located on six different sites and offers full country-wide air traffic management (ATM) and surveillance coverage. Completion of the final two sites took place during the pandemic.
The six sites, which include Songwe, Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro, Mwanza, Zanzibar and Arusha airports, all underwent a modernisation programme, which involved the installation of ATC surveillance radars and Thales TopSky.
Dar Es Salam Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) has also been equipped with an ATC simulator to train TCAA air traffic controllers and engineers.
Integrated with existing sensors, Thales’ co-mounted STAR NG Primary approach radar with RSM970S Mode S en-route secondary radar together with TopSky – ATC enable the automation of en-route, approach and tower control centres, providing a highly accurate view of the air traffic.
In addition, the RSM 970S secondary radar Mode S downloads aircraft parameters that give the controller early notice of aircraft evolution (speed, heading) and the clearance, as well as providing the ACAS Resolution Advisory Report. All of this real-time data enables the controller to have the correct information in order to make the best decision at the right moment in time.
The TopSky-ATC EFS (electronic flight strip) replaces paper strips, taking track of every flight, allows Tanzanian Air traffic controllers to monitor safely and efficiently from a touchscreen real-time data updates and contributes to data sharing for collaborative decision-making. It also makes it easier for controllers to handle fluctuations in traffic volume, changing weather, and other situations that might impact ATC decisions at any time.
Thales TopSky – ATC monitors and controls more than 80% of African airspace, including five out of six upper airspace East African community states. More than 80 ATC radars are in operation across Africa, amongst 900 surveillance radars in operation worldwide.
“Implementation of the Tanzania Radar Project with THALES has realised the intended surveillance objective of the Tanzanian airspace through enhanced safety, security and efficiency. The associated automation system has enabled more efficiency in managing revenue collection obtained from aircraft movements database. Through this successful project TCAA is able to escalate ICAO standards to the highest level,” said Hamza Johari, Director General, TCAA.
