Airservices Australia has contracted Frequentis for a bypass voice communication system (BVCS) to be used in the new civil military air traffic management system (CMATS). 

The new civil military air traffic management system (CMATS) will replace the current independent civil and military air traffic management systems with one advanced, unified system, as part of the OneSKY programme. The BVCS will be completely independent from the main VCS.

“Airservices is transforming how air traffic management is delivered in Australia through the OneSKY programme, which will deliver a number of capabilities to airspace users, including business continuity, shared use airspace, trajectory-based operations and route optimisation,” said Jason Harfield, CEO of Airservices Australia.

“The BVCS will further enhance reliability and resilience, providing a backup capability to more than 200 operator positions for our en route and terminal area operations.”

Frequentis will now supply an independent IT-based backup voice communication solution for Airservices sites, which doesn’t share the same software, hardware, or interfaces as the main VCS. The Airservices BVCS systems, based on the Frequentis VCS X10, will be built at the new Frequentis Integration Facility in Brisbane involving Frequentis’ local supply chain.

“We are delighted to be supporting Airservices Australia to streamline air traffic services to support its airspace demands, as well as well as enhancing shared situational awareness for both civil and military aviation, improving business continuity,” said Martin Rampl, managing director, Frequentis Australasia.

“The BVCS will allow Airservices to continue to use the full CMATS capability and flexibility enabled by an IT VCS solution that supports the key objectives of CMATS, as well as resolving any potential obsolescence and support issues,” he added.