BAE Systems has developed a new Web Enabled Data Links (WEnDL) system to increase air traffic situational awareness for military aircraft pilots.
The low-cost technology uses existing satellite navigation and commercial aircraft data to enhance airspace safety.
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Equipped with BAE’s WEnDL system, military aircraft will be able to use important information related to nearby civil aircraft in order to assist pilots in making decisions more easily.
BAE Systems has been engaged in evaluating the automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) system for the past two years.
ADS-B system is a surveillance technology used to track and broadcast the location of aircraft using satellite navigation.
The technology enables the transmission of civilian aircraft flight data to military pilots through a tactical data link gateway, allowing pilots to monitor general air traffic.
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By GlobalDataThe new WEnDL system can be deployed to access the information transmitted from ADS-B, direct key data in a simple format, and make it available to the military aircraft.
Currently fully operational, the BAE Systems technology is being used by earlier tranches of the Eurofighter Typhoon combat jets that are test-flown at the company site at Warton, Lancashire, UK.
BAE Systems chief test pilot Steve Formoso said: “WEnDL is a key enabler to the safety and efficiency of test flying operations at our Warton site.
“The information that WEnDL brings in to the cockpit allows our test crews to operate with greater flexibility, as well as increasing their all-round situational awareness of other air traffic around the aircraft during sorties.”
