“Explained: Bharat’s own Satellite System will help new aircraft fleet land at small airports”, Swarajyamag, June 17, 2024:
“As India aims to become a regional aviation hub, the Union government is investing nearly $12 billion in constructing new airports and upgrading existing ones. In the goal of transforming its aviation landscape, the government is set to increase the number of airports from 150 to about 200 within five years. Adding to this, India’s total aircraft fleet is targeted to grow from around 700 to more than 1,500 by 2030, with most planes financed through sale and leaseback deals, making the country attractive to aircraft lessors.
Last year, Air India placed orders for 470 planes from Airbus and Boeing, while Indigo, the country’s largest airline, has about 500 planes on order. This total, which includes both wide-body and narrow-body aircraft, represents the largest orders by Indian carriers and one of the largest single aircraft orders globally. What these aircrafts will also bring is the capability to capture ‘augmented satellite signals’, to carry out an approach and landing without any help from ground-based navigation aids currently used, as it enables the use of India’s own satellite navigation system, GAGAN.
GAGAN, short for GPS-aided geo-augmented navigation, is a precise navigation system developed in India to assist with aircraft landings, especially during the critical landing phase. This initiative has been a significant step by the Indian government towards implementing satellite-based navigation services in the country. At present, most aircraft in India’s fleet are not equipped to receive GAGAN signals and must rely on expensive instrument landing systems (ILS) or ground-based navigation aids at smaller airports……”
Read the full article at Swarajyamag.com
