From history: Air traffic is born on the ground

In the mid-1990s, it was decided to explore the possibility of using the CNS&ATM (Communication, Navigation and Surveillance & Air Traffic Management) concept in Russia. As part of this task, FAU GosNIIAS, as an advanced aviation industry institute, took part in developing methods and tools for modelling air traffic management and organisation processes, as it has competencies and capabilities to simulate objects and their operating environments, as well as processes of interaction between the object and the environment.

With the support of individual RFBR grants and R&D of the Ministry of Science and Technology in the late 1990s, proactive work was started on the development of a multitasking software research simulator designed for scenario generation and subsequent evaluation of airspace use under various conditions. By 2004, the Institute specialists had created the first version of the software simulation complex for air traffic management simulation (ATC CMM).

In 2006, the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "State Air Traffic Management Corporation of the Russian Federation" (FSUE State ATM Corporation) ordered the Institute to work on the creation of a similar research complex with much wider capabilities. And since 2007, a hardware-software complex for simulation modeling of the air traffic management system (ATMS) with the developed software has been deployed and put into operation in the State Corporation, and a modeling group has been created within the Airspace Management Department.

In recent years, based on the complex staff of the Institute in conjunction with employees of the State Corporation has conducted a number of studies to support the improvement of the domestic structure of the airspace:

• a study of the route structure of individual district centres (St Petersburg, Rostov, Samara, etc.);

• analysis of proposals to modernise the Moscow area of the EU ATM, in support of the transition of the Russian Federation and other CIS countries to a Reduced Tarmac Standard (RVSM);

• study of air traffic flows in Khabarovsk RC;

• analysis of airspace usage features during the transition period to reduced maintenance standards in the Russian Federation and neighbouring countries.

As a result of the work performed by the GosNIIAS team, it is now possible to assess the efficiency of airspace use and to investigate processes and procedures for aircraft flight organisation and management. The ATM CMM, as a research tool, is in great demand for solving air navigation problems, and its capabilities are similar to such well-known tools as foreign complexes of  TAAM, AirTop, SAAM + NEVAC and FACET. There is no other domestic research tool based on mathematical and simulation modelling at this level in Russia.

To date, specialists of GosNIIAS are working on the application of simulation modelling to investigate highly relevant problems for the Russian air traffic management and control system.