It is decidedly not a broadband satellite network. And that’s exactly how Iridium likes things. Still, the company sees significant potential for expanding its adoption in the aviation market, moving beyond safety services messaging into new and as yet untapped markets.
We’ve always done message data stuff with airlines, but that’s nothing like what we’re going to be doing moving forward.
– John Peterson, Executive Director of Aviation, Iridium
Analytics for 4-D NextGen Navigation
The idea of next-generation air traffic control is not new; quite the opposite, in fact. But translating that concept into reality continues to be a challenge for the industry. Iridium’s Executive Director of Aviation John Peterson believes the necessary on-board technology is on the cusp of finally delivering, thanks to an affordable and secure data network supporting real-time analytics. And while most conversations around getting analytics data off the aircraft focus on predictive maintenance (and, yes, he wants in on that business, too), Peterson believes that real-time ATC adjustments hold the potential to deliver a massively more efficient global airspace, with significant fuel savings for airlines along the way.
The general idea is that each flight plan will include a plan for when it is supposed to enter and exit its cruise phase. Hitting those marks – especially the latter – means a smooth descent path directly from 35,000 feet to the planned arrival runway. But to make that work the aircraft and ATC have to account for actually getting to the correct waypoint at the correct time, not just filing a plan and hoping to hit it. Peterson envisions the flight plan including significantly more waypoints, “smoothing the curve” between the origin and destination. More importantly, though, with the updated data link to the on-board electronic flight bag (EFB) adjustments can be coordinated between ATC and the pilots at more frequent intervals.
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Rather than flying for five hours and then hoping they’ve hit the correct timing, Iridium foresees the flight plan adjusting as each of the dozens of waypoints are reached. If unexpected tailwinds are pushing the plane faster the pilots can potentially lower their cruise speed, making sure they don’t get to the descent phase too quickly. Similarly, if they’re running late ATC can be notified en route and potentially swap landing assignments, allowing a faster moving plane to remain as efficient as possible. And if a disruption occurs at an airport, limiting landing capacity the revised landing time and adjusted flight plan can be transmitted seamlessly into the EFB.
Peterson expects airlines would “save unprecedented amount of money in fuel and carbon because today they climb in steps and they come down and steps…They would much rather have all of that wait time at 40,000 feet where they’re not burning nearly as much fuel.”
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Behind this concept is the Certus Aviation Safety Program (CASP) network. That traffic management migrated into Iridium’s production network gateways in December of 2023. Terminal manufacturers are moving on to hardware testing now. Flight trials will follow, with certification of the hardware installations with regulators and the communications interactions with Air Navigation Service Providers.
Because the data involved passes over the Certus L-band network, licensed for safety services, it is considered secure and able to be plugged directly into the “aircraft domain” data links on board. Peterson sees that direct connection to the aircraft domain as a key technology gap that is now being plugged, allowing for the real-time communications and navigation work to be successful.
Peterson notes that this is “a completely new business” line for Iridium, delivering significant potential for new revenue. And, even with relatively low data prices (Peterson estimates them at dollars per megabyte, down from hundreds of dollars on legacy networks), the volume of traffic expected should deliver a boost to Iridium’s bottom line starting in 2025 as this service goes live.
Taking control, beyond the horizon
Larger UAVs and drones represent a significant and growing opportunity for Iridium, especially in beyond visual line of sight operations. They require multiple, redundant, reliable communications links for command and control. Peterson says Iridium is ready to be one of those links. “The perfect world is they’re using line of sight 900 megahertz, they’re using LTE type technology, and then they’re using us. I want to be that third source; that is, to me, the perfect world.”
And for an even more perfect (to Iridium) world, the company will be the primary C2 link.
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To that end, Iridium has been conducting test flights to ensure that the math works and that remote controllers have sufficient time to react to warnings from the aircraft. Specifically, Peterson says the company can support a TCAS Level II compliant separation. Alerts generated at five miles out require a response from controllers in about 18 seconds. The Iridium network provides more than enough time and sufficiently reliable service to allow for the warning to come in, an operator to issue the deconflict commands, and for the updated routing to be transmitted to the aircraft and implemented on board.
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Peterson is confident that later this year certification will be issued for the first large (200+ pounds) beyond visual line of sight UAV with the Iridium network as the primary command and control.
Much like the NextGen navigation, Peterson sees the market as “massively scalable, on a global basis” and as all new business for Iridium
Short-message inflight connectivity
One market the company is still not particularly interested in is commodity inflight connectivity for passengers. But that doesn’t mean Iridium has completely stayed out of the business. Both AirFi and Fflya offer limited – albeit notably different – connection services, each taking advantage of the low latency of the network and low cost of the hardware, installation, and bandwidth.
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Peterson is bullish on the offerings, though decidedly as delivered by third parties. He notes that the services work “really well” and is keen to see them expand in the future as the “the value it brings is actually much greater than I thought it was going to be.
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He ascribes that value, in large part, to the asynchronous nature of the services provided. Rather than delivering video or other content where customers expect an immediate response, or safety services data where real-time connectivity is critical, the asynchronous messaging services can be supported as a lower priority data service on the Iridium network, helping keep bandwidth costs down. Even the credit card transaction processing happens in near-real-time, not real-time.
The analytics/navigation and command & control markets will take time to evolve, with significant certification requirements to be followed by significant investments from aircraft owners and navigation services alike. But the network already exists and the proof of concept is complete. If Peterson’s vision comes to fruition the company’s aero segment has a significant upside ahead.
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