At NAIS 2024, Navigator Institute of Aviation Instrument Engineering (Navigator JSC), the leading Russian company specialising in the development and production of on-board radio-electronic equipment, demonstrated developments aimed at ensuring the safe operation and tracking of unmanned aerial systems (UAVs), as well as a mobile ground version of a small-scale radio-landing, navigation and surveillance system called KORMA.
The small ADS Bee RiD mini (Remote ID) receiver-transmitter for UAVs is a digital identification number for drones. The device is a digital number plate that allows drones to transmit information about their location, altitude, speed and flight duration, as well as the control station or launch site.
One of the features of the development is that the identification signal can be received by any mobile device, such as a tablet or smartphone, making the technology accessible to a wide range of users, including individuals and government agencies. The transceiver works in both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi modes and weighs just four grams. When used with professional receivers, a signal from the device can be received up to five kilometres away.
In addition to on-board ADS-B systems, Navigator JSC specialists have developed a ground station for automatic dependent surveillance (AZN-1090ES) of aircraft and other mobile objects, including UAVs equipped with responders. The ground station is capable of receiving AZN-B messages and telemetry data from drones, transmitting navigational information, as well as generating and transmitting data in ASTERIX cat. 21.
In addition to developments for UAVs, the company offers equipment for manned aircraft operators in the form of a ground mobile version of the KORMA system, better known as the “airfield in a suitcase”. The multi-functional navigation, landing and surveillance system is a portable container with antennas and equipment identical to those installed in the aircraft, allowing unprepared or poorly equipped airfields and sites to receive and dispatch aircraft. In addition, KORMA can inform the dispatcher or operator of the air situation in the flight area.
For poorly equipped airfields and airstrips, there is currently no clear technical solution to ensure interaction between manned and unmanned aircraft, as it is technically impossible to install the necessary navigation and radio equipment at these facilities. KORMA provides a unified complex of airborne and ground equipment to solve landing, surveillance and navigation tasks, as well as interaction between manned aircraft and UAVs.
