Thales Boosts Air Traffic Control over Belgium

Thales has just won a contract with Belgocontrol for the supply of STAR 2000/RSM 970 S co-mounted radars in the context of replacement of approach radars, initially at the airports of Brussels National and Ostend, and Charleroi at a later date.

Featuring cutting-edge technologies, both Thales’s co-mounted solid state radars, the STAR 2000 and MSSR RSM 970 S, will transmit data to Belgocontrol’s air traffic control centre, CANAC², which came into operational service on 10 February 2010 at an official ceremony presided over by the Belgian State Secretary for Mobility, Etienne Schouppe.

CANAC² (Computer Assisted National Air Traffic Control Centre 2) is the new air traffic control system for managing Belgian airspace. The central element of this system is Thales’s EUROCAT product, enhanced with new functions and based on an innovative hardware architecture concept. As a member of the SESAR project, Thales is committed to modernising the European air traffic control system by developing innovative technological solutions to put procedures in place that are more efficient, higher performance, safer and “greener”.

These systems use advanced technology that is continuously improved and updated to remain at the forefront of radar technology. The implementation of these new radars is designed to enhance the safety of Belgian airspace. Thales will also provide complete support for a period of 12 years, including technical assistance, software maintenance, repairs to electronic components and mechanical maintenance.

“We are proud of continuing a 30-year partnership with Belgocontrol and helping the Belgian civil aviation community to continuously improve the safety of one of the busiest airspaces in the world”, says Rémi Gille, Thales vice-president of the ATM division.