New WAM and PRM systems at Sydney Airport

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority of Australia has approved the use of wide area multilateration (WAM) and precision runway monitoring (PRM) systems at Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport. This will allow air traffic controllers of Airservices Australia, the government body in Australia responsible for air traffic control management and related services, with terminal airspace surveillance for improved coverage and aircraft separation services. The use of the systems would result in enhanced safety and accurate surveillance needed for precision approach aircraft landing. With the WAM system’s precision approach surveillance, flights can be separated on independent parallel approaches. The technology allows many ground receiving stations to detect signals transmitted from an aircraft and calculate its position in three-dimensional space. Multiple low-maintenance and non-rotating sensors help to locate aircraft based on transponder signals, giving precise aircraft position and identification information regardless of weather conditions. This data is then transmitted to screens viewed by air traffic controllers for separation of aircraft.