Voice communications systems at the first three Australian locations in the OneSKY programme have been transitioned.

The Airservices Australia and Department of Defence project team worked with operational staff and industry partners, Frequentis and Thales Australia, to ensure a seamless transition.

OneSKY is an important project in Australia to establish a single harmonised Civil-Military Air Traffic Management System (CMATS), which will not only align the needs of both civil and military aviation but also cater to forecasted air traffic growth.

Under the programme, Thales Australia subcontracted Frequentis for the supply of its end-to-end internet protocol (IP) voice communications system (VCS) and airfield management systems (AFM), supporting enhanced safety, reliability and functionality requirements of the harmonised systems.

Frequentis Australasia managing director Martin Rampl says: “The unified project team has worked hard to successfully transition the first three locations to phase one of the CMATS voice communications system, on schedule.

“We are pleased to be part of such a ground-breaking project within the air traffic management community, helping Australia to streamline civil and military air traffic services. We look forward to the next step in the program and working with Thales Australia, Airservices Australia, and the Department of Defence on the next phase of the delivery.”

In the next step, planned for early 2019, Brisbane’s air traffic service centre will follow suit, completing its transition to the CMATS phase one voice communications system.

“Airservices Australia and the Department of Defence rely on the partnership between Thales and Frequentis to provide Australia with a futureproof and advanced air traffic management system. The successful switchover of Perth, Melbourne and Sydney to the CMATS phase one voice system, on schedule, demonstrates the dependability of this partnership and sets the pace for its completion,” adds Lawrence Brown, OneSKY program director at Thales Australia.