SITTI INDIA IS BORN

The presence of SITTI in India dates back many years ago. During the past decades, SITTI has been supplying Voice Communication Systems (VCS) (and ancillary equipment) used by hundreds of controllers in the main ACC centres and international airports of India. These systems have been recently complemented by a nationwide coverage of new VoIP (Voice over IP) VCS systems that have been installed throughout the entire Nation.

SITTI is a world leader in Air Traffic Control (ATC), focusing on Voice Communication Systems (VCS), recorders, consoles and auxiliary devices used at ACCs and towers of any size, from small airfields to very large international sites. Our presence in India covers the whole subcontinent, and it is expected that our contribution to the local economy will still increase in the near future.

In order to consolidate and expand its strong relationship with the Airport Authority of India (AAI), and to provide immediate answer to any request that may come from the local market, SITTI decided to establish a new subsidiary company in India under the name of “SITTI COMMUNICATIONS INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED” (also simply called “SITTI INDIA“), with its headquarters in New Delhi.

This investment testifies the growing importance for SITTI of India in the region. The constantly evolving systems, that are more and more integrating new features to give air traffic controller complete situational awareness, see SITTI in the forefront of the innovation projects worldwide. The presence of a local subsidiary will give Indian ATC authorities the opportunity of lively experimenting the new functions through the direct contact with local qualified staff.

SITTI INTEGRATED SERVICES IN MULTIFUNCTIONAL POSITIONS

In line with its internal process of modernization and technological development and enhancement, the Italian Air Force (AM) promotes all efforts aimed at streamlining and facilitating the provision of Air Navigation and Air Traffic Control services that result in an improvement of the efficiency and safety of operations.

In particular, Voice Communication Switching systems (VCSs) are required for the management of communications between ground infrastructures and aircrafts. Availability and efficiency of these systems are essential conditions for the effective accomplishment of the tasks assigned to the Air Force. The airfield towers have already been modernized along the past years with MULTIFONO® M800IP® state-of-the-art VCS systems.

Taking into account the technological developments in the Air Traffic Control field, it has been recognized that it is necessary to complete this modernisation process through the acquisition of so-called “multifunctional” features. This means the introduction at each tower Controller Working Position (CWP) of a fully comprehensive mean allowing operators to access the various subsystems used for controlling the air traffic in a unified, simple, ergonomic, standardized way.

The multifunctional MTF800 positions provided by SITTI allow operators to acquire operational awareness at a glance, concentrating all related information sources (even from third party suppliers) in a reduced number of screens, through which the interaction between operator and each subsystem (voice, frequencies, weather, cameras, recorders, flight strips, etc.) is simplified and integrated.

The SITTI MTF800 multifunctional system can be at any time expanded to accomplish new tasks or to adhere to possible new regulations and needs, thus permitting the move of an operator from one position to another (in case of need or maintenance) without any data disruption.

The first sites where MTF800 has been installed are the airbases of Ghedi and Pratica di Mare, while Decimomannu is in progress; another 6 airports will also be equipped with MTF800, with possible extension to further three. The “turnkey” approach followed by SITTI and the extreme flexibility capability of MTF800 have been particularly appreciated by the Air Force, thus improving the response to their challenging operational needs.

MTF800 can be used in both military and civil towers, by putting together and integrating information sources of different kinds, for on-site use as well as for remote tower installations.

AIR FORCE REMOTE RADIO SITES BY SITTI

The air traffic control communication network can be, generally speaking, made of many remote sites hosting analogue and/or digital single or multi-channel radios for allowing controller to talk to pilots. Remote radio sites shall provide operators placed at different geographical locations the possibility of using their frequencies in a shared way, so that a radio shall not be deemed as “belonging” to a given VCS (Voice Communication System), but can be accessed and used by a plurality of VCSs.

When radios are natively compliant with the international ED-137 standard, this feature is already given by the radios themselves because this is a common behaviour well defined by the standard. When vice versa radios do not comply with ED-137 (e.g. analogue or digital radios), then a gateway is put between the radios themselves and the VoIP (Voice over IP) network to allow mutual coexistence and access capability.

For the Italian Air Force, the gateway function is provided by so-called RIU (Remote Interface Units) by SITTI that permit MULTIFONO® M800IP® VCS systems to send and receive audio and data to and from radios of any kind. This is particularly of interest for the integration of remote site radios into the NATINAMDS radio infrastructure that is used by the Air Force. RIU devices also contribute reducing the bandwidth needed to connect to remote radios and provide all management and information services needed for their efficient handling.

SITTI is being supplying additional interface systems and RIUs to enhance and complete the access to all radio sites, also providing automatic operational substitution of faulty equipment, multiple VCS access to radios, priority assignment, frequency management tools.

The long experience accumulated by SITTI all along the many decades of successful support to military forces worldwide makes it possible to offer a turn-key solution project and geographical test bed that will be evaluated by the Air Force for implementation starting in 2023.