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NAMA installs surveillance system to monitor low-flying aircraft
The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) says it has achieved 80 per cent installation of the Wide Area Multilateration (WAM) surveillance system to monitor and track low-flying aircraft.
The acting Managing Director of the agency, Mr Lawrence Pwajok, said this at an interactive session with newsmen in Lagos on Sunday.
Pwajok explained that the surveillance system, estimated to cost 12.9 million dollars (N9.42 billion), would be completed before the end of the year.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Multilateration (MLat) is a proven technology that has been in use for many decades in both navigation and surveillance applications to track aircraft at any location.
NAN also reports that NAMA recently installed a piece of equipment known as Wide Area Multi Laceration in Port Harcourt for low-flying aircraft in the Gulf of Guinea.
The project was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in 2018.
Pwajok said the equipment would help the agency in carrying out monitoring, control and surveillance of both the manned and unmanned aircraft in the Niger Delta region.
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He added that the system also made provision for capturing low-level flying helicopters in the Gulf of Guinea, especially as their activities increased in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.
The MD said the agency was in the process of concluding the projects but had to call for stakeholders’ sensitisation to get their input.
In his words, “The surveillance system is for the low flying aircraft and the beauty of this new concept is the capability to capture low flying helicopters that have increased within the Niger Delta area.
“Knowing the strategic nature of this sector and the strategic nature of the economy, we have implemented the surveillance system that will enhance the efficiency of low-flying helicopters in that region.
“We have also incorporated what we also call the UTM system (Unman-aircraft Traffic Management System) otherwise known as remotely piloted aircraft systems, which can monitor drones and control them within the entire Niger Delta region,” he said.
According to him, this type of surveillance system is used for logistics supplies, pipeline monitoring or inspections and security surveillance within the region.
