MANAGEMENT
Q&A: CONSTANTIN VON REDEN
Vice president, market segment ATC, Rohde & Schwarz
Safety and security remains the focus for innovation within the information technology and
communications used by the ATC sector
Safety and security has
developed considerably over
the last 10 years – to what do you
attribute this development?
The aviation market, be it industry or enduser,
has always focused on safety and
security. Here, methods and technical
possibilities have significantly improved, and
international standardization is being
pushed, as global cooperation are the norm.
It is fair to say that flight safety has never
been better. Having said that, safety in air
traffic control (ATC) continues to hit the
international headlines with wide ranging
issues, for example vulnerabilities to attacks
through the internet.
Cyber-attacks are real. Attackers can
exploit ATC systems, which is especially
worrisome at a time where people are still
sensitized by the 9/11 terrorist attack on the
US. To stay successful in this market, Rohde
& Schwarz’s technological developments
meet the challenge of cyber-threats (among
other things) and we invest a lot in this very
vital element of any ATC solution.
Can you share with us some of the
trends and requirements you are
seeing in the ATC market space?
Air traffic continues to grow at a rapid rate
worldwide, despite all discussions about
climate change and the rise of ecological
thinking. This rising air traffic density and
pressures to reduce costs create challenges
for ATC authorities.
For example, in Europe even short flights
entail frequent switching between ATC
authorities – France, Belgium, the
Netherlands and Germany. Geographic
conditions can also dictate frequent ATC
responsibility transfers. Additional
communications resources are needed to
ensure seamless flight monitoring and
control. Here, seamless flight control
without many frequency changes is urgently
required in order to organize air space
efficiently. Virtual Centers with multiredundant
systems will help to achieve the
required flexibility.
Drones clearly are a challenge. As you
know, ATC technology keeps track of
commercial and military aircraft, but this
does not account for drone traffic. In the
next 10 years, drones might be delivering
goods to doorsteps (as they already do
today) and over highways and train routes
for traffic monitoring. How do we integrate
drones safely and efficiently into air traffic
that is already flying in low-altitude
airspace? How do we coordinate the
airspace? How do we ensure safety at
airports? There is an abundance of open
questions, all of which already are under
discussion in several working groups.
Where has Rohde & Schwarz
made headway?
The Irish (IAA) and Icelandic (ISAVIA) ATC
authorities are jointly responsible for the
flight corridor over the North Atlantic. The
modernization program for both the IAA
and ISAVIA ATC communications systems
involved the previously impracticable
requirement of making it possible for the
Icelandic authority to take on full control of
Ireland’s duties and vice versa. This
requirement stemmed from economic
82 AIR TRAFFIC TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL 2020
considerations and the demand for efficient,
dynamic resource distribution between both
ATC authorities. There was also a demand
for enhanced operational safety in case of
major system malfunctions or even total
failure of one of the two systems.
Rohde & Schwarz’s R&S VCS-4G virtual
center technology enabled us to prevail
over the global market leader during the
tender process.
The ATC centers in Ballygirreen, Ireland
and Gufunes, Iceland are now both being
equipped with an R&S VCS-4G system. The
systems are interconnected in a cloud
architecture to allow air traffic controllers at
either control center to fully or partially take
over the duties of the other center for ground
to air and ground to ground
communications. Rohde & Schwarz’s
integrated existing competitor VHF and HF
radios into its solution next to installation of
R&S M3SR Series4100 HF receivers as well.
Unlike competitor devices, these receivers
connect via VoIP in line with EUROCAE ED
137. An automatically controlled antenna
switch matrix modified to customer
specifications was also part of this substantial
All Photos: Rohde & Schwarz
Above: Availability of flight operations systems is paramount for air navigation service providers, air traffic control agencies and airport
operators and Rohde & Schwarz has built a strong reputation in this safety-critical sector
Right: Constantin von Reden, Vice President Market Segment ATC at Rohde & Schwarz