NGC Installs Sapphire Air Traffic Management Solutions for Poland's Airports

Northrop Grumman Corporation’s (NYSE: NOC) U.K.-based air traffic management (ATM) subsidiary, Park Air Systems, has recently delivered its Sapphire ATM communication system equipment to four remote stations in Poland: Sieradz, Radom, Gabin and Brzesk - all serving Warsaw airport.

The systems were delivered to the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency (PANSA) in December and were installed in first quarter 2018.

“PANSA was looking for an outstanding air-ground communications capability that is safe, reliable and easy to maintain,” said Roman Drozdz, service director for Mawilux, Northrop Grumman’s project integrator in Poland. “They found it in the market leading T6 radio, the smallest, lightest and most environmentally friendly radio available.”

The installed systems are based on Northrop Grumman’s Sapphire portfolio, of which the T6 very high frequency (VHF) and ultra high frequency (UHF) radios are core products. These remote stations will improve the coverage available to PANSA air traffic controllers based in Warsaw for communicating with military and civil aircraft.

“The feedback we received from PANSA following the training was very positive,” said Danny Milligan, managing director, Park Air Systems, Northrop Grumman. “The dedicated training academy we have here at our U.K. facility and the tailored courses we can provide allowed us to exceed our customer’s expectations.”

The Sapphire portfolio of radios and accessories is supplied with traditional analogue and internet protocol (IP) interfaces for both audio and data as standard. This allows PANSA to operate the new Northrop Grumman radio systems on their legacy network, while being confident that they will be able to switch seamlessly to IP in the future.

Airport staff from the Polish sites visited Park Air in October to receive comprehensive training. The factory acceptance test took place in November.