Aireon and Airways New Zealand, New Zealand’s air navigation service provider, last week signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly investigate the potential to deploy space-based automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) services in New Zealand domestic and South Pacific airspace. The agreement means Airways New Zealand and Aireon will collaboratively investigate and potentially develop applicable ADS-B regulations, standards and procedures for surveillance in the New Zealand Domestic Flight Information Region (FIR) and the oceanic Auckland FIR.
The investigation will also validate the concept of 100-percent surveillance coverage over remote, terrestrial and oceanic regions in both FIRs, as well as international harmonization with neighboring ANSPs.
Airways New Zealand controls more than 30 million square kilometers of airspace and has over one million aircraft movements annually connecting to the FAA's Pacific airspace.