Mode S coverage UK/Europe
 

What is the current coverage by ATC with respect to Mode S? I know that London has an area and Manchester too that can read selected heading, speed and flight level. Any details published anywhere?
Thanks

Most of the NATS UK en-route radar are now Mode S. Not so many airport radar yet although Heatrow went Mode S earlier in the year. However some operators had better get their skates on because non-Mode S radar are unlikely to get their licensces renewed after 2012.

In Europe as a whole I think there are over 80 Mode S radar operating now. More info on the EUROCONTROL web site www.eurocontrol.int

Not Quite
 

Less than 50% of UK en-route radars are Mode S capable and only the 10cm at Heathrow is Mode S. Still a long way to go!

No Mode S at Scottish, and thats a very big chunk of UK airspace!

Mode S Enhanced will be at prestwick centre from go date :)

UK current en-route Mode S radar

Allanshill, Burrington, Claxby, Clee Hill, Cromer, Debden, Pease Pottage, Sumburgh

Also airports: Heathrow, Glasgow, Inverness, Newquay, Belfast

JAR
 

To be strictly correct: heading, speed and selected flight level.

'Selected flight level' is the only 'aircraft intention' type of information currently down linked from the aircraft. All the others are 'actuals'.

MNT:

The H23 is also Mode S.

Don't hang up:

I believe the Gatwick 10 and Stansted 10 radars are also mode S. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong)

Wrong on all counts Defruiter. All are on the schedule for upgrade but are some way down the list ...although listing does change frequently.

Interesting...I stand corrected then, sorry!

How come if I use the H23 I still get the downlinked mode S data? Is it feeding from the H10?

Defruiter - that's done inside your Radar Data Processing and Display system. While you're using the H23 Plot picture, the system is also multi-radar tracking plots from all radars. The Mode-S data is sent to the display using multi-radar tracks, then the Mode-S data is extracted from the track data and put in the target labels on the plot picture.

Explains it - Thanks :)

Come end of October (ish) there will be 11 Mode S radars operated by NATS covering large portion of the UK FIRs.

To correct Don't Hang Ups list :}, they are:

Heathrow TC, Burrington Combined, Burrington SSR, Debden, Pease, Claxby, Clee Hill, Cromer, Sumburgh, Glasgow (end August) and Belfast (Sept) - these are all enroute or terminal radars and pretty much cover much of the UK airspace. The remaining will be done by 2011.

There are also upgrades planned as mentioned for a number of small airports who are investing in Mode S interrogators (Inverness, Newquay, etc).

Unfortunately display / trackers are a bit behind and many units will be presented Mode S derived data although cannot use the Mode S data itself, targets being converted to conventional SSR plots instead.

Much of Europe (except Spain for some reason who do not appear to be implementing Mode S - happy to be shown otherwise) is pretty much in the same place or more advanced.

121decimal375 - Sumburgh, Cromer and Claxby have been Mode S for years, you just can't see it! :ok:

we can't see it coz of the 25 year old processors in our centre besides which, we're so quiet, we'd never use it! , roll on the new scottish centre and the 15 year old system going in. that'll be a massive improvement :ok:

Flight ID
 

Mode - S for flight id is not restricted by the age of the processors but the current lack of complete cover, mode 3A ground based systems (airport movement) and the need to communicate with other non-mode-S neigbouring ATSUs.
It is a great shame given the money that we will have to spend on a central european Mode 3 A assigner (CCAMS).
Our new FDP system replecement is also not Mode-S compatible (yet).
To have to change Mode 3A codes at busy times (due to a lack of investment not just by NATS) is a poor situation.

There is no point in having the radars there if we can get the information to use!

But for the Scottish TMA controller who normally use Lowther Hill and Great Dunn Fell radars, neither of these Mode S! Im sure the TMA would be one of the most important sectors to get it?????

Work is underway on the Lowther Mode S and Great Dun Fell is scheduled for next year. So it looks like you will have Mode S capability in time for the new centre, when you will also have radar displays and tools which can use it.

Thats what I thought, fingers crossed it all goes to plan!

If there is work going on at Lowther and I don't know about it I'll be worried - Glasgow Mode S needs to come into service first before we take Lowther out! :}

So it makes a mockery of the insistence of those @ssh#les at Gatwick who want everyone to carry mode S transponders from any time now :\