For the first time, the Spanish air traffic control system (SACTA) screens have been used remotely for verification and validation tasks. Since the declaration of the state of alarm and the beginning of the lockdown, ENAIRE implemented a work method so that its engineers could continue the testing at the Experimentation and Development Centre remotely. This enabled the ATM Automation and Development areas, as well as the group of air traffic controllers that defined the functionality (the SACTA iTEC Operating Group), to run ENAIRE’s first remote validation with the participation of the Ineco engineers who provide service in these areas.

Unmanned aircraft (UAVs, RPAs or drones) are nothing new; these kinds of aircraft have been used as aerial targets to test weapons for more than a century and, indeed, the popular term ‘drone’ was coined by the British military in reference to the sound that these devices made. This is demonstrated by the fact that they were mentioned at the Convention on International Civil Aviation in Chicago, in 1944, which saw the creation of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO); in fact, Article 8 prohibited the use of unmanned aircraft without the express authorisation of each state.

Spain is one of the most active countries in terms of numbers of AESA-registered operators and is also the world’s tenth largest drone manufacturer

However, it was the evolution of microelectronics that enabled the sector to break into the mass market. Since the beginning of the 21st century, drones have been increasingly used by the military, although it was not until this decade that the technology started to become available for civilian use thanks to its gradual reduction in price. The low cost and ease of use of these small remote-controlled aerial vehicles, usually multicopters, has rapidly increased the popularity of their use in both recreational and professional fields. Growth of the sector in the last five years has been exponential, as shown by the number of drone patents issued. This growth is not surprising given that this technology has myriad applications, especially in imaging and photography, cartography and topography, surveillance and security, but also in agriculture, emergency support, environment, infrastructure maintenance, etc.

Spain is one of the most active countries in terms of numbers of AESA-registered operators and is also the world’s tenth largest drone manufacturer according to the Global Trends of Unmanned Aerial Systems report published by the Danish Technological Institute in 2019. Ineco pioneered the use of this technology for bridge inspections in 2015.

Ineco is actively participating in the SESAR projects related to the development of U-space: TERRA, IMPETUS and DOMUS

First steps

Drones also pose risks, of course, especially if they are operated in residential areas, controlled airspace close to manned aircraft or when drones are flown out of sight of the pilot on the ground. These hazards need to be carefully considered for both recreational and, especially, professional use: they include device failure, loss of control link, in-flight hacking and loss of the navigation or traffic separation systems.

For this reason, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has stipulated that drones with a take-off weight exceeding 150 kg must undergo a certification process, similar to that for manned aircraft, for both manufacture and operation. However, lighter drones, which are not intended to carry people on board, are not subject to such rigorous safety mechanisms. Consequently, their components and manufacturing are less robust, especially in the case of drones manufactured in large production runs, and standards are more appropriate for toys than aircraft.

In order to minimise the risks, a few years ago, the member states of the European Union began to restrict drone operations through regulations. In Spain, Law 18/2014 regulated the use of drones for the first time, limiting their operations to a height of 120 metres above the ground, prohibiting use near airports and controlled traffic regions (CTRs), in cities and areas with high concentrations of people, and allowing only flights within visual line of sight (VLOS), that is, less than 500 metres from the pilot on the ground. And, of course, drones must be remotely piloted (RPAs) and not operate autonomously.

This regulation greatly limited the type and complexity of drone operations, so three years later Royal Decree 1036/2017 was published to make the development of the sector compatible with safe operation. The new standard still allowed for simple operations, but also more complex ones with prior authorisation by the Spanish Aviation Safety Agency (AESA).

To obtain authorisation, a safety study must be carried out, in addition to specific training and equipment to limit the risk, as well as coordination with those affected, if any, for example, air navigation service providers in the event of operations in controlled airspace. Ineco, in the context of the Ministry of Public Works’ Transport and Infrastructure Innovation Plan, has carried out these kinds of safety studies to obtain the authorisation required to perform complex piloting projects such as the recording of data from radio navigation systems in airports.

European regulations

Operating requirements in different European countries vary widely. To alleviate these regulatory differences, the EU has published a new regulation that divides operations into three categories (open, specific and certified), depending on the complexity of the operation, in order to harmonise requirements in all countries and facilitate the provision of services in any member state.

In short, it is now possible to carry out almost any kind of operation with drones in any environment, but only if operations are not carried out simultaneously. This means that if demand continues to grow as expected, it will be necessary to coordinate flights to maintain safety. To make this great development of drone operations possible, the EU, in its Warsaw Declaration of 2016, agreed on the need to develop the concept of U-space to allow safe operation of multiple drones at low altitude (below 150 metres) and especially in urban environments.

U-space will make it possible to coordinate drone operations so that they can be carried out simultaneously

U-space is a set of services, technologies and procedures to allow the safe and efficient operation of a large number of drones. The conceptual and technological development of these services is being carried out through the Single European Sky ATM Research programme (SESAR), as the EU considers it vital to provide an adequate environment to exploit all of the benefits that drones can bring to society. It will make it possible to coordinate drone operations so that they can be carried out simultaneously. However, the level of coordination will vary depending on the risk and density of this kind of aerial vehicle in the areas in which they are intended to operate; for this reason, the CORUS project has defined different types of airspace for drones: X, simple operations (VLOS) without coordination; and Y, complex operations in simple environments, so they will only require prior coordination of paths through flight plans, and Z, highly complex operations (urban-Zu, airports-Za) that require coordination in real time due to the risks to people and the number of operations.

Ineco is actively participating in SESAR projects related to the development of U-space: it is heading up the TERRA project, which is responsible for defining the ground technologies needed to support the provision of services, is also participating in the IMPETUS projects, whose purpose is to design information systems for the use of drones, and is involved in the DOMUS demonstration project, led by ENAIRE.

EVOLUTION OF THE SECTOR IN SPAIN

Activities with RPAS

The building, which was opened in February 2019, will provide air traffic approach-control services for the airports of Valencia, Alicante-Elche and VFR aerodromes. The centre is also responsible for coordinating the technical operation services that are carried out in relation to ENAIRE’s facilities (air navigation systems, such as VOR and radar, required for aircraft to follow their routes and  to allow detection of their location at all times), which are located in the Valencian Community, the Region of Murcia and Albacete Air Base.

The investment made by the Ministry of Public Works, through ENAIRE, in the Valencia control centre totals 26.5 million euros. The new centre boasts cutting-edge technology and redundant systems to control air traffic and ensure the safety and continuity of air navigation services in order to respond to the demands of the major growth of air traffic in the Valencian Community, one of the most popular destinations for international tourism. In 2018, ENAIRE managed 188,000 flights from this centre, 70% of which were international. In 2019, traffic is expected to grow by 4% and the number of flights will exceed 200,000.

These ENAIRE facilities provide assistance to important services in the Region, such as flights for organ transplants and medical evacuation from La Fe Hospital and the National Transplant Organisation, the Maritime Rescue Air Base, firefighting, agriculture, the police, the Directorate-General for Traffic, air sports, flying clubs and aviation schools.

Valencia’s new TACC will be able to handle the expected air traffic demand, which grows dramatically on Spain’s eastern coast during the summer months as a result of increased international tourism.

What is a TACC?

A TACC is a centre where the air traffic in a certain area or sector of airspace is planned, organised and managed. Spain’s airspace is divided into three large flight information regions (Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands). Each flight information region is, in turn, divided into smaller airspace sectors known as terminal control areas, aerodrome control areas and airways.

Valencia’s TACC has facilities that are sized to meet the major air traffic growth demands of the Valencian Community. This is therefore, as Jose Luis Abalos, Minister of Public Works, pointed out, “a strategic project because it is a replica, in the field of aeronautical infrastructures, of the Mediterranean Corridor, which is a social, economic and political priority”.

Different professionals from Enaire and Ineco have been working on completing this centre for several years. The work of experts in automation, communications, surveillance, deployment of Automated Air Traffic Control Systems, (AATCS),  technical supervision and general matters has made the change to this new TACC possible.

The TACC boasts cutting-edge technology and redundant systems to control air traffic and ensure the safety and continuity of air navigation services

Ineco’s participation

Ineco participated in the construction and commissioning of this centre, and since 2008 has provided works management, technical assistance and supervision and surveillance of the works. In recent years, the company has participated in the implementation of TACC, collaborating with ENAIRE’s systems department, providing support to the automation division, navigation and surveillance division and technical operations, as well as with ENAIRE’s regional management, with a physical presence in Barcelona and Valencia.

Experts from the company have collaborated on the commissioning of radio navigation integration systems (RNS), which allow remote supervision and management of the radio navigation of the Eastern Sector and air traffic management (ATM) systems, which are the technical basis of air navigation and are used directly by air traffic controllers: AATCS which is responsible for the management of air traffic control, voice communication systems (VCS) for air traffic control which provide voice links with pilots and between controllers and last-resort radio and last-resort telephony equipment that guarantee oral communications as an alternative to VCS with limited functionality.

Other work consisted of validation of the software versions of the AATCS and VCS systems, the commissioning of the Orion supervision system and various jobs involving project coordination, plan updating and technical transition coordination, with participation in the commissioning of the systems and forming part of ENAIRE’s transition committee.

The annual World ATM Congress (WAC) event plays host to product demonstrations and launches, contract closures and networking opportunities, together with a busy schedule of conferences and high-level meetings. This year, a total of 225 exhibiting companies and 7,500 delegates from 130 countries took part. Every year, the World ATM Congress brings together around a hundred air navigation service providers (ANSPs), product developers, leaders and experts in the aviation industry, government representatives, manufacturers and industry suppliers from around the world.

Organised by the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) –of which Enaire (formerly Aena) is a founding member and which brings together air navigation service providers from around the world– in partnership with the Air Traffic Control Association (ATCA), an association that represents the air traffic control sector, the World Air Traffic Management Congress is an indispensable event that Ineco has been attending for almost 20 years.

The Galileo system: the brightest star

Galileo is the flagship project of European satellite navigation: a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) that will boast a total of 30 satellites by 2020 –26 of which are already in orbit– managed by the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency (GSA). Galileo is compatible and interoperable with systems such as the US’s GPS and Russia’s GLONASS, and will offer an unprecedented improvement in performance in terms of precision, resilience and robustness.

In 2016, the GSA entrusted its operation and maintenance to a consortium led by Spaceopal for the following 10 years. Spain is part of this consortium, through a group of public enterprises led by Ineco, in partnership with Isdefe and INTA (National Institute of Aerospace Technology). Ineco is in charge of the operation, top level maintenance and management of the hosting services of the European GNSS Service Centre (GSC) located at the INTA’s facilities in Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid).

Orderly skies

With a marked international orientation, the air navigation sector moves in a world of extreme safety requirements and resulting advances in new equipment and technologies to ensure this safety.

Since 2007, Ineco has been part of the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) project, which is currently in the deployment phase of unifying space and air traffic control in Europe. In this respect, WAC 2019 played host to SESAR guided walking tours which saw the involvement of Ineco’s aviation experts Pilar Calzón, Víctor Gordo, Fernando Ruiz-Artaza, José Manuel Rísquez, Mercedes López and José Recio. There were also presentations on the integration of small drones and their application in airports and CTR environments by Víctor Gordo, and on the HEDIPRO flight procedure design tool by the engineers Javier Espinosa Aranda and Fernando Carrillo, also from Ineco.

The company has extensive experience in calculating and designing aeronautical charts for the publication of procedures based on PBN, GNSS, GBAS and vertical guidance approaches (APV SBAS), airspace restructuring –such as the restructuring carried out at Spanish airports and in countries of the likes of Egypt and Morocco– and navigation easement studies. Designs of instrumental flight procedures for the international market are also carried out, such as those implemented for the airports of the Sultanate of Oman, Cape Verde and Singapore Changi Airport.

In addition, in partnership with ENAIRE (formerly Aena), Ineco has carried out more than 2,000 radio simulations to assess the impact on airport CNS systems of infrastructures close to airports, such as shopping centres and housing developments, and within the airports themselves, for instance, new terminal buildings and runway extensions. To achieve this, the company uses its own NAVTOOLS proprietary software.

RPAS: all of the guarantees for drone flights

Ineco’s RPAS radio navigation aid verification project, which was presented during WAC 19, is an innovative solution for in-flight recording of radio navigation aid signals and a console on the ground that makes it possible to determine the trajectory flown and quality of guidance provided by the radio navigation aid.

The company is certified to operate and owns a light commercial drone for inspection of bridges and viaducts, and has also acquired a drone with greater capabilities and autonomy able to carry payloads of up to 4 kg, enabling more complex operations to be carried out.

From SACTA to iTEC

In terms of automated air traffic control systems, Ineco has historically worked in collaboration with Enaire and other industry partners on the evolution and development of its control system, known as SACTA, which
was designed entirely by Spanish companies and is a benchmark at the European and global levels. The SACTA and ICARO systems and the ACC voice communication system (COMETA) provide all aeronautical information necessary for air traffic control in Spain and are constantly updated.

The company is currently collaborating with Enaire on the development of a future automated air traffic control system (iTEC). Ineco is also working on another fundamental element for air navigation safety: guaranteeing the quality of the aviation data that ENAIRE collects, publishes and supplies.

December 2016 saw the completion of the first SESAR research and development programme, with a total of 63 Air Traffic Management (ATM) solutions, all with a shared goal: increasing the number of air operations, increasing safety, and reducing the costs and environmental impact associated to each flight, all priority issues for the EU. This was possible thanks to the combined work of airport managers, air navigation service providers, the aviation industry and airspace users. This was a fruitful collaboration as part of the company SESAR Joint Undertaking (SJU), a public–private partnership bringing together all Air Traffic Management (ATM) R&D initiatives in Europe. Founded in 2007, the company was created by the European Commission (EC) and Eurocontrol to coordinate the growing number of partners and to manage financial and technical resources, with a view to making the Single European Sky project a reality.

According to statements by the EC, SJU has met its expectations. The parties responsible for technological development for the future European Air Traffic Management system presented a total of 63 solutions at the end of 2016, defining standards, operating procedures, technology and pre-industrial components. These solutions were developed with a clear focus on subsequent deployment and implementation.

ENAIRE’S leadership

Together with its shareholder ENAIRE (formerly Aena), Ineco began participating in 2000 in the area of ATM in European R&D Framework Programmes, which were co-financed by the European Commission and ultimately replaced by SESAR JU to unite efforts, to avoid the duplication of work and to promote the deployment and implementation of the different developments. Since the development phase got underway in 2008, ENAIRE has participated in 95 projects (the programme includes over 300), taking a leading role in 16 of these. Ineco’s contribution to SESAR began in December 2010, with the company ultimately participating in 54 projects. Participation in SESAR has allowed us to keep up to date with the evolution of ATM technology and operations, putting this experience at the service of our clients and shareholders. Regarding this, it should also be highlighted that Ineco, jointly with ENAIRE, led WP6 Airport Operations, diferent kind of operational projects and also Operational Focus Area(OFA) in which projects were grouped assessing the same concept. The company also contributed in the development of operational concepts in the Network, Route, TMA and airport areas and in the coordination and execution of validations (both in fast and in real time) and the subsequent analysis of indicators from different perspectives (for example operations, economics, environment, safety and human factors).

Ineco experts also developed Touch It!, a tablet application enabling measurement of the workload of any human actor in their professional setting, whether this be aeronautics or not.

PLANNED OBJECTIVES. The hexagon in the graph above shows SESAR’s six proposed performance areas for measuring the success of the works carried out. The blue hexagon shows SESAR‘s initial targets, with the green one showing the high level of achievement reached by 2015, with a year still remaining for development.

SESAR deployment phase

In order to truly meet the objectives set, conceptual development of solutions is not sufficient. The industry must put these into production, at the same time deploying or implementing them. Similar initiatives in the past have not achieved this. However, there is now a body (the SESAR Deployment Manager) and a budget earmarked for making this happen.

The SESAR deployment phase guides and ensures the deployment of the developed solutions in a coordinated way within the European Union. As part of this, the EC published a regulation in 2014 called the Pilot Common Project, defining the first large-scale actions to be carried out in order that the technologies presented be available and put into operation. This is a mandatory regulation which all providers must put into effect in accordance with the implementation phases. This level of integration and information will also involve on-board equipment, manufacturers, flight personnel, controllers, airlines and the aeronautical industry as a whole.

What are the benefits? In addition to advances in terms of the safety of air operations and reducing fuel consumption, the advantages include interoperability and reduced operating costs. But above all, it is also a political achievement, a shared experience which confirms the movement towards a more united, collaborative Europe, gradually finding supranational systems to bridge the historical borders fragmenting and hindering the dream of a unified territory.

PRESENTATION OF PROJECTS. Form left to right: aeronautical engineers Ester Martín, José Manuel Rísquez and Laura Serrano, who attended the SESAR Showcase event on behalf on Ineco and representing ENAIRE. The event was held in Amsterdam on 30 June and featured presentations on the 63 solutions developed.

SESAR 2020: Second phase of development

Starting in October 2016, a second phase of development, SESAR 2020, is following suit, not only in launching the development of new solutions but also in completing the development of those that began in the first phase. This new programme presents a series of R&D projects, from early conceptual ideas to validation in operational settings for deployment. These projects are grouped into three large areas:

• Exploratory research, the most innovative part of SESAR, which is subject to open calls for projects.
• Industrial Research & Validation, where concepts offering significant ATM benefits are refined and validated. Only SJU partners and associate companies can participate.
• Very Large Demonstrations: projects included in the step prior to industrialisation and/or production, which are oriented towards validated concepts that require European or global coordination.

In the first development phase, there was a separation between operational projects and systems projects. This risk disappears in SESAR 2020, as each project includes a team of both operational and systems experts, with both groups being involved in the entire life cycle and development of the project: concept, requirements, validation, verification, etc. In addition, certain processes have been elaborated to ensure greater involvement from airlines, which are one of the most important actors in the world of ATM as they will be the users of the future ATM system developed by SESAR.

ENAIRE’s automatic air traffic control system (SACTA for its acronym in Spanish), is a complex system of local machines and servers, installed in control centres and towers, that share information in real time. SACTA makes it possible to automate the acquisition, processing, distribution and presentation of the data required to carry out air traffic control tasks that form part of the air traffic management (ATM) system. The main objective of ATM is to regulate traffic in a secure and orderly fashion, as well as to ensure that air navigation system capacity can meet the demand. SACTA began providing service in 1990 at Palma de Mallorca’s control centre; nowadays it is the only traffic control system in all of Spain’s airports.

This system carries out the integration, automation and improvement of processes which allow for the control of aircraft that are en route, approaching and near the tower. In this way, information can be coherently processed and the associated air traffic control and management services have the support they need to meet security and service objectives. It is an ever-evolving system, meaning that ENAIRE is constantly perfecting and modernising it.

Ineco has collaborated with ENAIRE since 1998 on the evolution of SACTA, as well as on the automatic system for flight plan, aeronautical and meteorological information (ICARO), by participating in the specifications, design, testing and commissioning of new functionalities. Ineco’s experts are part of system evolution and development in almost all areas, from the design of both functional and hardware architecture requirements, to maintenance and assistance to different ENAIRE users. A broad range of ATM system knowledge is obtained this way, proving extremely useful to the company and facilitating its national and international expansion.

Broadly speaking, the SACTA system makes it possible:

• To provide the controller with all relevant, updated air traffic data, thus facilitating interoperability between control facilities, collateral installations in Spain and abroad, and the CFMU.
• For controllers and technicians to receive training in a dynamic simulation environment.

A modular, redundant design was chosen to deal with such a complex system, thus allowing it to evolve with the least possible disruption to the operation.

Information that is always available to air traffic

The SACTA system, via its subsystems, integrates and provides the following information which is available to air traffic controller at all times:

• Flight plan information: the system is in charge of processing the flight plans received, determining routes and flight profiles. It also guarantees the interoperability of control facilities and foreign agents, making them fully compatible with flight plans that have origins and/or destinations beyond Spain’s borders.
• Flight monitoring: the system makes it possible to identify and obtain the position and information regarding aircraft trajectories in controlled airspace, as well as the capacity to ensure the separation and controlled flow of flights. This information is obtained by integrating data from the radar and sensor network for position within national territory, with the data provided by each aircraft in real time.
• Aeronautical and meteorological information: the system receives and processes meteorological and aeronautical messages (such as SMI, QNH and NOTAM).
• Supervision: the purpose of the system is to monitor, control and configure the HW/SW subsystems, which make up the SACTA system, thus promoting its reliability and integrity.
• Recording and operations: these allow for the analysis and study of operational and technical information.

SACTA SCREEN. The SACTA system determines routes and flight profiles, identifies the position of aircraft and ensures their separation in airspace.

New functionalities

Greater capacity, precision, savings and efficiency

The main purpose of SACTA, as an ATM system in service, is traffic security in all airspace sectors, thus the reason why it is constantly evolving. The automation of processes which are increasingly complex due to the high concentration of flights in European skies is organised, developed and tested alongside ATC personnel. This makes the information received by air traffic controllers through their HMI (Human Machine Interface) accurate and relevant, thus improving and strengthening communication flows with aircraft and different subsystems. The latest SACTA development included a series of functionalities which noticeably improve efficiency in route control, TMA and TWR. Below are the details concerning the most important changes currently being implemented:

• Paperless Operations (OSF for its acronym in Spanish).The flight progress strip is a fundamental tool for air traffic controllers. This little slip of paper contains the essential information about the route or itinerary for each controlled flight. With the use of ‘paperless operations’, aerodrome control management is possible with electronic flight strips. These strips appear on the screen in the same order as the old strips which were organised in bays. This system did not simply replace paper, but it had to be adapted to the different roles performed by tower controllers. Management of traffic in the tower is divided into three different areas of responsibility: Clearance (ATC authorisation and start-up), taxi track (taxi clearance) and Local control (clearance for takeoff and landing); these areas of responsibility can be assigned individually, or several can be integrated into a control position. Accordingly, for each case the electronic flight strip presented will follow its functional cycle in line with the areas of responsibility assigned to each control position. Implementation of paperless operations (OSF), presently at Palma de Mallorca and Malaga airports, immediately resulted in increased efficiency and capacity.
• Air Ground DataLink (AGDL). AGDL implements land-air point-to-point digital communication, allowing for the exchange of information between the aircraft and the Control Centre regarding two different technologies: ATN and FANS. Among other amenities, it provides ADS-C and CPDLC services. Implementation of ADS-C (Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Contract), only in the FANS network, represents significant progress in surveillance. It generates periodic reports or variables on request such as aircraft position and speed, using available aviation information as the source, including GPS data. CPDLC technology (Controller-Pilot Data Link Communication) consists in exchanging a series of pre-defined text messages based on a common phraseology between the air traffic controller and the pilot. This technology makes it possible, among other benefits, to accelerate operating instructions and prevent confusion caused by voice dialogues, thus a complementary tool to this technology.
• Collaborative Decision Making (CDM). The CDM project is an operational efficiency improvement tool whose approach is the process of aircraft rotation, based on the philosophy of sharing information that affects flights, among the different actors involved (handling, control, airlines and airport). This information is processed, thus increasing its accuracy and completeness. Reduced wait times and increased efficiency are achieved with this tool. The CDM process involves adapting the procedures that the airport operates with.
• Arrival Manager (AMAN). The Arrival Manager implements calculation of the optimal airport arrival sequence by utilising efficiency criteria to reduce wait times, thus facilitating flight transfer between APP and TWR.
• eCOS/eVEREST. Although it is almost at the end of the list, it represents the most important change in the evolution of system hardware and software in recent years. It involves a redistribution of the system’s core information nodes, thus affecting the overall architecture of the system. It goes from a configuration where the Seville and Palma servers are integrated, in a centralised manner, in Madrid and Barcelona respectively, together with their affected TWR facilities. The impact on the distribution of flight plan, radar, aeronautical and meteorological information is global, but the costs for implementation, commissioning, maintenance and development are reduced. Although it is a big change to the infrastructure, it is not a big change for normal control operations, meaning that it is transparent.
• Phase 2 Configuration (CF2 for its acronym in Spanish). CF2 affords easier operations, based on the aircraft tag that the air traffic controller sees on the screen. This tag displays colour changes or blinking on a global level or in certain fields, some of which are new, depending on the status of the flight plan, transfers between sectors, restrictions and alerts.

The main purpose of SACTA, as an ATM system in service, is to provide the tools which make it possible to guarantee the separation of traffic in all airspace sector. / PHOTO_PABLO NEUSTADT