Can the tower of a military airport be hundreds of kilometers away from hangars, dockyard, runway and landing strip? No problem, as Frequentis proves with its prestigious “Remote Tower” project, and not just in the USA.
Airfields and military bases in crisis areas are sought-after targets during conflicts. Expensive equipment and many highly qualified people work there to keep operations running. The air traffic controllers are in a particularly exposed position. Their workplace, the tower, is visible from afar and can be attacked with infantry weapons.
But how to protect the personnel? With expensive weapons systems? More and better equipped ground troops? Armor? That is one solution. The Viennese high-tech company Frequentis has a better one: In its “Remote Tower”, the air controllers no longer sit where they can easily be caught in the crosshairs, but where they are safe. Hundreds of kilometers away – for example in their home country or in a secure bunker. A complex network of cameras and sensors on and around the airfield form their eyes and ears. They provide the controllers with live images on their screens – even in fog and sandstorms. Frequentis develops and produces communication systems for the “safety-critical sector”, for example for coast guards and the military. But also for authorities, railroad companies and air traffic control. The company is even the global market leader in the latter, with almost all systems worldwide running on technology made in Austria. CEO Norbert Haslacher proudly points out in the interview with Militär Aktuell to 500 customers in 140 countries. https://militaeraktuell.at/frequentis-ceo-norbert-haslacher-im-gespraech-mit-militaer-aktuell/ The idea for the remote tower came about a decade ago. However, bringing innovations from the drawing board to the market is anything but easy in this safety-critical area – and above all a lengthy process. Regulations, certifications and approvals with countless standards are typical of the industry and slow down implementation. However, a lack of air traffic controllers and cost-cutting measures at airports were the decisive drivers for the development and implementation of the remote tower, which can also handle several airports in parallel if required, as the example of Saarbrücken shows. The flight operations there are also handled by controllers at Leipzig Airport, 400 kilometers away.
Unsurprisingly, the “tower without a tower” soon attracted the interest of the armed forces, particularly the US Air Force. The US Air Force has purchased no fewer than four systems, two mobile and two stationary, in recent years. Unit price: between half a million and ten million euros, depending on the model. Frequentis has a US subsidiary and has been supplying 56 army bases with communication technology for some time. However, Frequentis does not only build voice and data communication solutions for aviation. The company is also involved in space. All NASA sites worldwide use Frequentis technology – a total of around 4,000 controller workstations are integrated into the system. And in Colombia, the Vienna-based company has installed one of its largest networks. The Joint Command network includes land, air and naval patrol forces. The system enables radio communications and data exchange between a warship and a combat helicopter, for example. Frequentis has also been working closely with the German armed forces for 25 years. Numerous solutions in combination with radar, cyber command and cyber security systems are already in use there. However, it has been agreed not to disclose further details. In the civilian sector, however, the customers are no secret: in this country, for example, ÖBB, the railroads in Australia and the coast guard in Greenland.
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