
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
The Agency for Air Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA), Nigerian Communications Satellite Ltd. (NIGCOMSAT) and Thales Alenia Space, the joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), are working together to accelerate the development of SBAS (Satellite-Based Augmentation System) services for aviation in Africa.
Exploiting the SBAS signal broadcast over the Africa & Indian Ocean (AFI) region since September 2020, including receipt of a SBAS signal at the Optus Satellite teleport in Western Australia in October 2020, and delivering the first SBAS open service in this part of the world, via the NigComSat-1R satellite, and following up the flight demonstrations performed successfully last January at Lom Gnassingbe Eyad ma International Airport, the three partners recently conducted a successful SBAS demonstration flight on June 2nd 2021 between Douala and Kribi in Cameroon with a rotorcraft.
The aim was to demonstrate in the field the effectiveness of this technology developed as part of the SBAS for Africa & Indian Ocean programme, designed to autonomously provide SBAS services across the continent, thus improving the performance of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), GPS and Galileo.
The rotorcraft demonstration carried out a low-altitude, two-way demonstration flight along a Low-level route linking two point-in-space (PinS) approaches to the Douala airport and a point near the oil platforms off the Kribi coast. This experimental flight demonstrated the ability of the SBAS Safety of Life (SoL) services and efficiency, further demonstrating Thales's certified and proven SBAS SoL services can be applied in complex ionospheric equatorial zone using Thales specific algorithms developed over the last 5 years through significant R&D investment, and in view of the operational SBAS services expected to be delivered in 2024. The helicopter was provided by Heli Union and the SBAS receiver by Pildo Labs.
The proven application of Thales's certified SBAS SoL services in equatorial zones that present challenging ionospheric conditions follows Thales's recent announcement to enhance space based positioning systems to exploit the integrity that comes with Safety of Life services beyond the traditional aviation certified capability, that could deliver significant benefit to Australia and New Zealand including, broader industry benefits with emerging safety critical applications such as, autonomous vehicles, mining and resources as well as ground transportation, maritime and rail.
We will continue to support and contribute to the success of SBAS flight demonstrations using NIGCOMSAT-1R navigation payload to sensitize stakeholders towards acceptance and adoption of SBAS technology in Africa's Aviation sector for its many benefits especially as it concerns improvement of operational safety, reduction in operational costs and environment , declared Dr. Abimbola Alale, MD/CEO of NIGCOMSAT Ltd. It is in line with marching order and directive of the Honorable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy of Federal Republic of Nigeria; Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) FNCS, FBCS, FIIM who has directed full exploitation of the capabilities and capacity of NIGCOMSAT-1R satellite for digitalized economy in all sectors for sustainable development in the continent.
Thales Alenia Space is the ideal partner to support countries that want to implement their own SBAS system, based on our proven expertise in developing EGNOS for Europe and KASS for South Korea, coupled with our advanced satellite positioning technologies, said Benoit Broudy, Vice President, Navigation Business Unit at Thales Alenia Space This latest demonstration proved the services ability to improve satellite navigation for helicopters, in addition to civil planes, and it will help accelerate the rollout of SBAS aeronautical services in Africa.
I'm proud that we were able to demonstrate the utility and efficiency of SBAS services on our continent for all the community of airspace users, from commercial aviation to general aviation, and including rotorcraft, said Mohamed Moussa, Director General of ASECNA. In line with my vision of unification of the African Sky, the upcoming deployment of the SBAS for Africa & Indian Ocean' system, the navigation solution for Africa and by Africa, will benefit to all the aviation stakeholders of the continent, enhancing sustainably the flight safety and efficiency Commented Mohamed Moussa, ASECNA General Director.
Contact
Press Contact: Alasdair Cameron
+61 (0)2 8037 6032 / +61 (0)404 073 169 alasdair.cameron@thalesgroup.com.au
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
27/07/2026
The Audio Engineering Society Educational Foundation has named its scholarship and grant recipients for the 2026/2027 academic year. The awards support students...
27/07/2026
ESPN and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) have signed a multi-year media rights agreement covering basketball championships and select football and ba...
27/07/2026
Yahoo Sports and Cameo have partnered to allow fantasy football users to book personalized celebrity videos directly within the Yahoo Fantasy app and website. T...
27/07/2026
Eutelsat has welcomed the FCC's order establishing the regulatory framework for the transition of Upper C-band spectrum in the United States. Under the orde...
27/07/2026
ESPN and the International Dance League (IDL) have signed a global rights agreement for the 2026 season. Events will air bi-weekly on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. ET beginni...
27/07/2026
NBCUniversal and YouTube have signed a multi-year global partnership that includes bundling Peacock with YouTube Premium, extending NBCUniversal's distribut...
27/07/2026
Agenda includes presentations from the Miami Heat, Inter Miami, Florida Panthers...
27/07/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, including new deals, departures, and assignments compiled from press releases and repo...
27/07/2026
Ten one-minute shorts will roll out across CBS, The CW, Paramount+ during the 2026 PBR Teams season
PBR is officially moving into scripted animation. The Profe...
27/07/2026
Today the nonprofit Sundance Institute shared the names of this year's cohor...
27/07/2026
New app turns vocal percussion into polished loops
Vochlea, the company behind the voice-to-MIDI instrument Dubler 2, have just announced the launch of a ne...
27/07/2026
Latest MPE-capable instrument completes Pure Trilogy line-up
Sonora Cinematic have just released the third and final instalment in their series of acoustic ...
27/07/2026
Emulates four varieties of optical compression
The latest addition to the fedDSP line-up has just been announced, and packs four distinct optical compressor...
27/07/2026
Optical & FET compressors join 500-series line-up
At our recent GearExpo UK show, we heard from Drawmer that they would soon be launching a pair of new 500-...
27/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/07/2026
Lightware announces SNMPv3-based monitoring support for selected Taurus devices, available from firmware v1.20.0. The update enables IT administrators and AV in...
27/07/2026
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, will showcase its vision for the Real-Time...
27/07/2026
All episodes available Thursday 6 August on Sky and streaming service NOWMonday ...
27/07/2026
Why Confidence MattersIn this series, we explore the technologies, architectures and operational realities shaping modern media operations. Along the way, we ex...
27/07/2026
Apple today announced AppleCare One - a new way for customers to protect multipl...
27/07/2026
Yesterday witnessed truly memorable scenes in Croke Park, bringing the curtain d...
27/07/2026
Luxembourg, July 27, 2026 - SES, a leading space solutions company, issued the following statement following the U.S. Federal Communications Commission approval...
27/07/2026
Open source software is a critical pillar of the global economy. It underpins cloud computing, financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications, government...
26/07/2026
What is Audio Vivid? A New Destination for Immersive Audio Over the past several years, immersive audio has evolved from a niche production consideration into a...
26/07/2026
The complexity of modern chip design continues to grow as engineering teams work to develop increasingly sophisticated CPUs, GPUs and AI systems. To help meet t...
25/07/2026
New app turns vocal percussion into polished loops
Vochlea, the company behind the voice-to-MIDI instrument Dubler 2, have just announced the launch of a ne...
25/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/07/2026
Export FCP7 to XML Without Needing FCP7 Installed
Dave Rice July 24, 2026
0 Comments
I've created an open source tool that allows you to export FC...
25/07/2026
Documentary Sell Your House Edited with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton July 24, 2026
0 Comments
Filmmakers post feature documentary from opposite...
25/07/2026
Time to Act: Bringing a New Opera to Life Boston Conservatory at Berklee vocal arts students played a vital role in shaping the opera's creative developme...
25/07/2026
Beyond the Score For Dean of Music Kevin Haden, the boundless possibilities of classical music begin with process.
July 24, 2026
By
Kevin Haden
Michelle ...
25/07/2026
Reading the Room As music director of two major orchestras, conductor Jonathon Heyward aims to make the concert hall a space for everyone.
July 24, 2026
By
...
25/07/2026
Saturday 25 July 2026
First look revealed for YAGA, a seductive mystery thrille...
24/07/2026
Referee hat cameras, player/coach mics, and virtual graphics will be deployed at the three-day event for the first time
The NFL FLAG Championships return to ES...
24/07/2026
Qvest, Ateme, and Scaleway have partnered to offer broadcasters, media organizat...
24/07/2026
LTN has completed satellite-to-IP migrations for more than 3,000 broadcaster, MVPD (Multi-Channel Video Programming Distributor), head-end, and content owner si...
24/07/2026
Chyron has released Virtual Placement 8.1, an update to its live sports virtual graphics platform. The release adds workflow and graphics changes across chroma ...
24/07/2026
Riedel's RefCam Live was used for the first time at an international soccer match during a friendly between the German men's national team and Ghana in ...
24/07/2026
USSI Global said it is prepared to help broadcasters, satellite network operators, and media organizations manage the next phase of C-band spectrum clearing, fo...
24/07/2026
FuboTV and The Athletic have launched The Athletic Video Hub on Fubo, bringing The Athletic's sports video content to connected TV (CTV) for the first time....