India to get global navigation system for ISRO, AAI

New Delhi: The  Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) will soon acquire a comprehensive global navigation satellite system to meet their requirements, according to American aerospace giant Raytheon.

"India has tied up recently with US aerospace major Raytheon Company for the final phase of its ambitious Global Positioning Satellite-Aided Geosynchronous Augmented Navigation System (GAGAN)," said Andy Zogg, the company's vice president of Airspace Management and Homeland Security.

GAGAN will provide satellite-based navigation for civil aviation across south and east Asia, which will provide India with "the most accurate, flexible and efficient" air navigation system deployed.

"Raytheon looks forward to continuing our collaborative relationship with ISRO and AAI during this critical phase of GAGAN. We are committed to a thorough transfer of knowledge of the GAGAN system to further enhance India's leadership position in air navigation," Zogg said.

Raytheon had supplied radars in the initial test phase of the GAGAN programme, along with ground systems and mission control facilities.

GAGAN will provide augmented information for satellite navigation to the aircraft flying within Indian Flight Information Regions (FIRs), which consists of seven boundaries.

The progranmme has already crossed the Technology Demonstration Systems (TDS) phase which required implementation of a minimum configuration system designed to serve as proof of concept and to meet the ICAO SARPs requirements.

The TDS consisted of eight Indian Reference Stations (INRES), an Indian Mission Control Centre (INMCC), two Indian Land Uplink System (INLUS), Space segment, required communication links and necessary software for navigation and communication during the TDS phase.

In the Final Operational Phase (FOP) phase, the GAGAN programme will mature. Extensive tests will be carried out to establish the stability of the various elements of the system. Certification and validation of the system will be completed before declaring the system operational. The FOP is slated for completion this year.

ISRO in association with the AAI will be developing the entire system through all the stages of TDS, IEP and FOP. ISRO will continue to provide technology support, maintenance and replenishment of the space segment of the system, as and when required, to maintain the robustness of the system.