Japan Radio Co., Ltd. conducted a demonstration experiment of a multilateration system for airport surface monitoring at Phu Quoc International Airport, Vietnam, and achieved positioning performance that exceeds the world standard (EUROCAE ED-117A)^*1.

Phu Quoc International Airport

Background

In 2018, JRC was commissioned by the Ministry of Internal affair and communication to undertake research on the promotion of international coordinated use of frequencies through the overseas expansion of multilateration systems for airport surface monitoring. It has been implemented since March 2021 under the agreement document regarding the demonstration experiment and technical cooperation of the multilateration system for airport surface monitoring with Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation (VATM).

What is multilateration system

The multilateration system is a system of multiple receivers located at the airport that receives secondary radar (SSR) signals emitted from an aircraft and detects the exact position of the aircraft based on the reception time difference. Even in situations where visibility from the control tower is poor, such as at night or in bad weather, the position of the aircraft can be accurately grasped, and safe and efficient air traffic control can be performed.

Our system uses RoF (Radio over Fiber) technology to enable highly accurate position detection even in a
multipath^*2 environment.

Results of demonstration experiment

The performance evaluation which was jointly developed and carried out with the Electronic Navigation Research Institute (Chofu City, Tokyo), demonstrated that the performance greatly exceeds the positioning accuracy(error within 12 m) of the world standard (EUROCAE ED-117A)
　- Positioning accuracy : within 3.0 m of error. Achieves positioning accuracy within 7.5 m even under multipath conditions.
　- Redundancy : Achieves positioning accuracy within 7.5 m even when one receiver cannot be used.

Operations will be handed over to the Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation after operational evaluation is completed.

Completion Inspection

*1 EUROCAE ED-117A :
　EUROCAE ED-117A is an aviation-related international standard established by the European non-profit organization EUROCAE.
　In 2016, ED-117 (within 7.5 m error) was revised to become ED-117A (within 12 m error).

*2 Multipath :
　Multipath is radio wave interference caused by reflected waves from structures.

Related information

• News (May 16, 2018)
  JRC and VATM conclude a contract for demonstration and technical cooperation of multilateration system for airport surface monitoring
• Product Information : Multilateration system
• Implementation Example : Multilateration system (Phu Quoc International Airport)

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