Radio Direction Finder at Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre

Air traffic controllers at EUROCONTROL’s Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre (MUAC) can now rely on a new technology to further improve their situational awareness. Using triangulation software, the Radio Direction Finder, recently deployed throughout MUAC’s international airspace (the upper airspace of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and north-west Germany) calculates accurately an aircraft’s position on the basis of its radio transmissions. The transmitting aircraft appear clearly (in a white circle) on the controllers’ integrated human machine interface. This feature helps reduce call sign confusion, read-backs from wrong aircraft or crossed transmissions. More information about the Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre is available at http://www.eurocontrol.int/node/5500/