Story ID: 402
Emergency Locator Transmitter Confirms Signal Received
By: Charles Alcock
Caption: Orolia's new Kannad Ultima-S ELT system is compatible with Galileo's satellite network and confirms receipt of distress signals.
Word Count: 301
Orolia is presenting the fruits of its work to advance emergency locator transmitter (ELT) technology at this year’s Singapore Airshow. The French company’s most recent breakthrough is its new Kannad Ultima-S ELT, which it says is the first to use a return link service (RLS) based on the Galileo satellite network.

In October 2019, Orolia (Chalet G10) successfully tested the Kannad Utlima-S ELT with Galileo and the French Cospas-Sarsat center, which picks up emergency signals from distress beacons on aircraft and ships. The system features an optional automatic acknowledgment service that confirms that the distress signal got through to search-and-rescue teams.

This new RLS capability is part of a wider Cospas-Sarsas upgrade program called Meosar. The European GNSS agency is funding the development of various Galileo-enabled and RLS-capable beacons for civil aviation through the Tauceti project.

Resilient positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) system specialist Orolia also is showcasing its latest solutions for resolving global navigation satellite system jamming and spoofing interference. Pilots can use its new GSG-8 GPS/GNSS software to train to deal with issues involving navigation signals and sensors. The system has been developed to better prepare flight crew for situations such as so-called drone swarms.

The GSG-8 system allows pilots to train using precise duplicate versions of the actual cockpit instruments in their aircraft, rather than just generic instrumentation. The simulator can use the actual GPS signal required by each aircraft’s cockpit navigation systems for a more realistic training experience.

Orolia’s Singapore display includes its latest Sarbe Evo Line of search-and-rescue beacons for military aircraft. It is also demonstrating its handheld SecureFind battlespace communications, situation, and decision support system and the SecureSync time and synchronization device for PNT cybersecurity and military network interoperability.