Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) is presently seeking new technologies that will help reduce flight times, fuel consumption, pilot workload among others
This was revealed.by the managing director of the agency, Mr Tayib Odunowo through the director of air traffic services, Mr Matthew Lawrence Pwajok at the Annual General Meeting of the National Association of Air Traffic Engineers (NAAE) held in Calabar, Cross River state,
Odunowo equally cited how the agency has been evolving ways of reducing operational cost and carbon emissions.
The NAMA MD explained how the sector has been grappling with massive introduction of disruptive technologies that may dramatically impact on all areas of the aviation industry.
According to Odunowo,the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in her Global Air Navigation Plan (GANP) and the Aviation Systems Block Upgrade (ASBU) had predicted major technological shift in the air navigation system which has made ICAO to provide CNS Technology Roadmap for the implementation of the ASBU Blocks 0 – 3 highlighting major disruptive technologies that would change the course of air navigation service provision globally.
ICAO, Odunowo,said has embraced the concept of Performance Based Communication and Surveillance (PBCS) to emphasise the expected global migration from ground or terrestrial based communications, navigation and surveillance systems that have increased level of safety, efficiency, cost effectiveness, environmental sustainability, availability, reliability and continuity of service.
Noting that traditional aviation was built around the concept of manned aircraft (rotary and fixed wings),he mentioned how the advent of unmanned aircraft systems or Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) has resulted in changes in communication, navigation, surveillance and air traffic management to accommodate the operation of unmanned aircraft systems either in segregated, accommodated or integrated airspace blocks.
Odunowo revealed how the increased activities of spacecraft development for operations into outer airspace at supersonic or transonic speeds have also disrupted civil aviation of manned aircraft operations as a result of the frequency of such operations and the potential conflict with civil aviation while transiting from national airspace into outer airspace or from outer airspace into national airspace.
