Rohde & Schwarz and COCESNA agree ATC modernisation in Central America

Air traffic control (ATC) communications provider Rohde & Schwarz has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Central American aviation safety service provider COCESNA to equip airports with its communications technology.

COCESNA manages the airspace of Belize, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

The airspace, which borders on Mexico in the West and Panama in the East, also includes major areas over the Caribbean Sea and the South Pacific Ocean.

Under the terms of the agreement, Rohde & Schwarz will initially deploy its ATC communications system at the Ilopango Airport in San Salvador.

The system will comprise an R&S VCS-4G IP based voice communications system (VCS), Controller Working Positions (CWPs), R&S Series4200 stationary ATC radios as well as supplementary components such as voice recorders, emergency radios and antennas.

Under a separate contract, the company will install additional 240 R&S Series4200 software defined radios in 32 sites and airports in the six COCESNA member countries for en-route control and ground-to-air communication.

Both investments represent the start of COCESNA’s modernisation programme, under which the company will migrate to a fully digital and network-centric ATC infrastructure on the ground. It will be supported by the fully IP-based Rohde & Schwarz solutions.

In order to further strengthen the partnership, both firms are looking to sign agreements on other safety-relevant solutions for air management services (AMS) operators, which include radio direction finding systems, security scanners, drone detection systems and test and measurement equipment for air navigation systems.