Type Approval of First Aircraft Detection System for Obstacle Lighting based on Transponder Signals

airsight, as authorised entity by the German Ministry of Transport to verify transponder-based aircraft detection systems for obstacle lighting, has approved the first system in Germany. 

airsight has been entitled in April 2020 by the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) as first authorised entity to verify aircraft detection systems for obstacle lighting based on transponder signals. 

Type Approval of Aircraft Detection Systems 

Since its entitlement by the BMVI, airsight has been validating the design and functionality of such aircraft detection systems relying on an extensive approval process incl. detailed reviews of both the hardware and associated software. 

As part of the type approval, the aircraft detection system is to be validated by demonstration flights on a real installation. The validation flights are carried out both with "conventional aircraft" as well as with drone / unnamed aircraft vehicle (UAV) equipped with complex equipment to conduct extensive testing at all flight altitudes. 

The aim of the type approval is to ensure that the tested systems meet all applicable regulatory requirements as well as the high aviation safety standards. For this purpose, an extensive list of criteria was developed and used to assess the safety, quality and reliability of the detection systems. 

First Type Approval in Germany  

airsight granted the type approval for the first aircraft detection systems for obstacle lighting based on transponder signals in Germany, from the manufacturer “Lanthan Safe Sky”. 

During an approval process lasting a few months, Lanthan Safe Sky was able to provide all the evidences required for validating the function and design of their system. 

The validation flights, as important part within the procedure, were conducted in a wind-farm in Schleswig-Holstein. 

Contact us 

Are you a wind farm project developer or an aircraft detection system manufacturer requiring such assessment? Please feel free to contact us at wind@airsight.de to discuss your requirements with our engineers!