Inside view of an Air Traffic Control tower. Photo: Aireon

[Via Satellite 02-19-2015] Aireon has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Agency for the Security of Aviation Navigation in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA) to provide Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) capabilities to the West and Central African regions. ASECNA, the Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP) for 17 African states, plans to use Aireon’s satellite aircraft tracking services to improve Air Traffic Management (ATM) across the airspace under their control. Aireon plans to provide its global air traffic surveillance services as early as 2017.

Under the MOA, the companies will collaborate to assess the requirements and benefits of space-based ADS-B services in their airspace, which covers six Flight Information Regions (FIR) including the Dakar oceanic FIR that connects Western Africa and Europe to South America and the Caribbean. This agreement includes evaluating the coordinated use of the service in neighboring regional airspace.

“We’re particularly interested in surveillance coverage over remote terrestrial routes within Niamey, Ndjamena and Brazzaville, as well as the oceanic routes in Dakar and Madagascar, and expect that enhanced surveillance in the ASECNA FIR will not only generate efficiencies for the airlines but will also generate significant safety improvements for Africa while reducing the costs of infrastructure for ASECNA,” said Amadou Ousmane Guitteye, director general of ASECNA, who believes the technology may also work to drive international cooperation with regions such as Brazil.