Leesburg Executive Airport To Test Saab Remote Tower

Saab, the public-private Virginia SATSLab and Leesburg (Va.) Executive Airport are partnering to demonstrate and evaluate Saab’s remote tower technologies for use at non-tower airports. The trial will take place at the currently non-tower Leesburg field next summer, with the Virginia Department of Aviation acting as an advisory partner.

For the demonstration, the partnership will deploy a number of Saab technologies at the Washington, D.C.-area airport–including high-definition video cameras, pan-tilt-zoom camera, signal light gun and microphones–that will provide data directly to a remote tower center (RTC) also located at the airport. The RTC will have multiple high-definition displays and two controller stations with controls for voice communications, cameras and the signal light gun.

Data will be collected from both the RTC and a mobile ATC tower for safety redundancy and data comparison. Both will be staffed by FAA-certified air traffic controllers, the project partners said. During the demonstration, “Pilots will receive non-radar tower services from a trained FAA-certified controller, ensuring safe and efficient operations.”

Saab’s remote tower system will soon be commissioned at Ornskoldsvik Airport in Sweden and controlled from the Sundsvall remote tower center.