MODERNIZATION OF ATM SYSTEMS FOR TRANSITION TO QNH STANDARD

MODERNIZATION OF ATM SYSTEMS FOR TRANSITION TO QNH STANDARD

NITA brings to conclusion upgrade of the main Air Traffic Management systems and units under the program of transition to QNH standard to use altimeter setting for altitude above sea level.  The decision to implement transition to QNH was made by the Interdepartmental Commission for aviation and flight operations safety of civil aviation of the Ministry of Transportation of Russia on 26.12.2011 in order to harmonize procedures in accordance with ICAO standards.

In compliance with the Main Technical Requirements approved on 14.04.2018. by Director General of the State ATM Corporation for the purpose of transition to QNH it is required to upgrade ATM application software operating at the ATC and Tower workstations in the ATM centers.

In 2019 NITA carried out the upgrade and testing as required for additional functionality. Approval by the Federal Air Transport Agency, authorized body for equipment certification, was obtained.

Upgrade for the new functionality was provided for: ALPHA ATC System (versions 3 and 5), NORD-3 Data Display System, GRANIT and GRANIT-6 Recorder workstations, Tower and Radar modules of EXPERT ATC simulator.

Upgrade of the ATM system is implemented in accordance with the plans and programs of the State ATM Corporation, the main operator of the air navigation system of Russia.

In order to ensure introduction of new technologies and procedures when changing the level of reference of the aircraft altitude, first of all, full ATC simulators were upgraded to train ATC controllers, as well as to develop new flight patterns in terminal areas.

Special attention was paid to the systems of the Moscow ATM Center where the divisions are simultaneously preparing for the introduction of a new airspace structure.
The upgrade was provided for “Moscow-Reserve” ATM and standby systems and subsystems, standby workstations and recording systems at Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo Towers taking into account the features of transition to QNH procedures at the main airfields of Moscow terminal control area with single transition level.

In total, in 2019, NITA carried out modernization in 20 ATM centers  planned to begin with the transition to QNH including: Sakhalin, Yugra, Bashkir, Murmansk, Strezhevskoy, Syktyvkar, Taman, Arkhangelsk, Magadan ATM centers.

In 2020, the goal is to transfer to QNH all major airfields of Russian Federation. Since the beginning of the year NITA has carried out work on 26 sites in Tyumen, Siberian, Ural and South regions. 9 more systems will be upgraded by the end of the year: Perm, Samara, Ulyanovsk, Orenburg, Orsk, Lipetsk, Belgorod, Ramenskoye, Chkalovsky.

Under significantly complicated conditions of travel restrictions due to quarantine measures in all regions of the country NITA specialists performed the work efficiently and on time ensuring introduction of new flight patterns and procedures at the airports of Russia.