Gulam Rabbani :
Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) has received government’s consent to buy and install ADS-B technology, an upgraded surveillance radar technology which determines the position of an aircraft via satellite navigation or other sensors, in its radar system.
Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) is a surveillance technology in which an aircraft determines its position via satellite navigation or other sensors and periodically broadcasts it, enabling it to be tracked. The radar currently in use at airports of the country including the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport belongs to instrument landing system (ILS) category, while the new one falls under communication, navigation and surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) category.
Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman, Chairman of the of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, told The New Nation that they have already received the government’s permission to buy and install the new radar system for the country’s air space.
Now we are communicating with a radar manufacturer company of France to sign a deal over the installation of the new system which will include the ADS-B technology, also said the CAAB Chairman adding that the deal may take about one month time to sign and then the company will start work to install new radar system.
If the new technology is installed in the radar system we will be able to track any flight in our airspace and we will be able to talk to them, said the CAAB chief.
Air Commodore Md Khalid Hossain, Member (Operations & Planning) of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, said this type of technology is not a threat to our air defence system as many more countries around the world are using this.
Md Khalid Hossain also said if the new technology is installed in the radar system then the airports of the country will get an upgraded air traffic control system which will enhance the country’s airspace safety and security.
The deal, if signed, would cover the supply, installation and operation of navigation and surveillance systems, including radar and related air traffic management equipment, the officials indicated.
Sources said there is a long maritime boundary and it’s not possible to charge flights that use Bangladeshi airspace at present. The whole area cannot be covered with the existing radar. On top of that, take-off, landing and traffic management are very risky with the current radar system.
The International Court of Arbitration had awarded Bangladesh the right to an area of about 19,000 square kilometers of the Bay of Bengal in 2014.
However, the 37-year-old analogue radar currently installed at the airports cannot detect foreign aircraft flying over the sea, according to CAAB.
The new radar will increase surveillance over Bangladesh’s territorial waters and airspace. It will also allow Bangladesh to collect fines from trespassing aircraft.
