All air traffic management centers in Russia have been transferred to domestic technologies

Main article: State Corporation for the Organization of Air Traffic in the Russian Federation

The Unified Air Traffic Management System of the Russian Federation is designed to organize the use of airspace and air navigation services for aircraft flights in Russia and is of strategic state importance, in accordance with a government decree.

The operational bodies of the Unified System include:

• Main Centre (HP OP EC HZ)
• Zonal Centers (RC EU ATM);
• regional centers;
• district centers;
• auxiliary district centers;
• air traffic service bodies.

Chronicle of the project

2023

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin allocated 5 billion rubles to support the air traffic management system in Russia

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed an order that allocated 5 billion rubles to support the air traffic management system in Russia. The corresponding document was published on August 10, 2023.

According to the press service of the Cabinet, these funds will go to the State Corporation for the Organization of Air Traffic (GC for ATM), which ensures the safety and regularity of civil aviation flights in Russia. The allocated funding will make it possible to carry out air navigation services for at least 1 million flights, provide a basis for flight safety for years to come, increase the stability of transport infrastructure, and make transportation more accessible.

Mikhail Mishustin

In May 2023, 5 billion rubles were also allocated to support the air traffic management system. The issue of sending additional funding for these purposes was considered and approved at a government meeting on August 10, 2023. Then Mikhail Mishustin noted that recently the number of flights made in the Russian sky has been steadily growing.

Nevertheless, funds are also needed for the purchase of radar equipment necessary for the development of regional airports, strengthening the protection of information systems, as well as for the advance of contracts with manufacturers and the formation of a reserve for the future, - explained the head of the Cabinet.

As noted by Interfax, until 2020, the bulk of the income of the Group of Companies for ATMs was provided by the service of foreign airlines. After the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of their flights through Russian airspace dropped sharply, which led to financial difficulties of the Civil Code. The situation was aggravated by anti-Russian sanctions after the start of a military operation in Ukraine: a number of foreign carriers suspended flights to Russia, almost all, except for Chinese, no longer fly through it in transit.

ORDER

System conversion to Russian technologies

On July 10, 2023, Rostec announced the transfer of all air traffic management centers in Russia to domestic developments. We are talking about the Unified Air Traffic System (ESOrVD), which is created for the safe use of airspace and which, as emphasized in the state corporation, is strategically important for Russia.

The last center in Rostov-on-Don, which used foreign solutions in its work, switched to Russian ones developed by Azimut. With their help, flights are now organized over the entire territory of the country.

The domestic automation system put into operation in Rostov-on-Don includes air traffic control, communications, documentation and training. It made it possible to equip more than 70 workplaces of dispatch and engineering and technical personnel, as well as provide simultaneous escort of up to 4,000 aircraft in the area of ​ ​ responsibility of the Regional Center on an area of ​ ​ 1.2 million square meters. km

As noted in Rostec, the water into operation of the new system was preceded by long and painstaking work on the manufacture and delivery, installation, setup and testing of equipment, as well as on training the staff of the regional center in the use and operation of the complex.

In terms of their characteristics, our equipment and software surpass Western samples and exclude further dependence on foreign suppliers, - comments Sergey Chemezov, General Director of Rostec. - The modular principle minimizes the possibility of error propagation, while the probability of complete failure of systems is reduced to zero. Thanks to this, the capacity of airspace has been increased, and flight safety has been increased.

2022: The government allocated 15 billion rubles to support the air traffic management system in Russia

In mid-September 2022, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed an order that allocated an additional 15 billion rubles to support the air traffic management system.

According to the press service of the Cabinet, the allocated funds will go to the State Corporation for the Organization of Air Traffic, which ensures the safety and regularity of civil aviation flights in Russia. The money will go to air navigation services for at least 1 million flights. If necessary, additional funding will be allocated for these purposes by the end of 2022.

Mikhail Mishustin announced the decision to support the air traffic management system under external restrictions on September 12, 2022 at a meeting with deputy prime ministers. Three days later, it was approved at a meeting of the Government of the Russian Federation, the Cabinet of Ministers said.

An additional 15 billion rubles will be allocated to support the air traffic management system.

Mishustin at that meeting noted that in total, additional funding of 25 billion rubles could be provided to support the air traffic management system this year.

At the end of April 2022, the Presidium of the Central Council of the Federal Trade Union of Aviation Dispatchers (FPAD), on behalf of 30,000 employees of the national provider of air navigation services, FSUE State Air Traffic Management Corporation (ATM Group, under the jurisdiction of the Federal Air Transport Agency controlled by the Ministry of Transport), prepared and sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin complaining about massive staff reductions and a request for state support.

The most acceptable, according to the FPAD, option of state aid is the allocation of ATM GC up to 15 billion rubles. with the return of the subsidy within five years after the start of active aviation activity in the country. There is also an option of concessional lending with a deferral of loan repayment and interest, but in this case, according to Kovalev, it will be necessary to raise FSUE tariffs by at least 3 times, including for Russian airlines.^[1]

2015: Almaz-Antey fails modernization of unified air traffic management system

In February 2015 , the Accounts Chamber reported on the results of the audit of the targeted and effective use of federal budget funds under the modernization program of the Unified Air Traffic Management System of the Russian Federation for 2009-2020, for which the Federal Air Transport Agency is responsible . The audit showed that by 2015 the planned values ​ ​ of a number of indicators and indicators of the program were not achieved, such as the timing of its implementation, the number of objects introduced, the effectiveness of budget investments, etc.

The initial deadline for the completion of the program was 2015, but in 2013 it was shifted until 2020. As it turned out, even with the postponement by 2015, none of the 20 planned nodes of the backbone network of the integrated fixed-line digital network were put into operation. Of the 55 automated receiving and transmitting centers, only 29 were introduced. Of the planned two aviation search and rescue centers, not a single one has been commissioned.

For the period from 2011 to the first half of 2014, the amount of funds allocated for the implementation of the program amounted to 10 billion rubles, of which the federal budget funds - 3.7 billion rubles, extrabudgetary - 6.3 billion rubles. Auditors note that the execution of federal budget expenditures for the implementation of the program by the Federal Air Transport Agency is organized at a low level.

Almaz-Antey Air Defense Concern is the only supplier of goods, works and services under the modernization program of the Unified Air Traffic Management System of the Russian Federation

"A significant part of the financial resources allocated by the Federal Air Transport Agency for the implementation of program measures was practically" frozen "during the year, was not used for its intended purpose and could not be redistributed to other purposes," the Accounts Chamber notes. "So the reasons for the untimely and incomplete implementation of program measures are not insufficient resource support, but in the organization of work

The Almaz-Antey Air Defense Concern was appointed the only supplier of goods, works and services under the program by presidential decree. The auditors note that the concern did not cope with the duties assigned to it and the planned effectiveness of the program was not achieved.

"The fulfillment of a significant part of the contracts concluded with the concern as a single supplier was actually carried out by subcontracting organizations," the Accounts Chamber states. "The obligations to develop design estimates by the concern were not fulfilled in a timely and low-quality manner."

For the violations identified, the Accounts Chamber sent an appeal to the Prosecutor General's Office. The letter states that on the revealed facts it is necessary to carry out supervisory measures by the prosecutor's office, as well as to consider the issue of bringing guilty officials to justice established by law.

2008: Approval of the System Upgrade Program

In 2008, the program of modernization of the Unified Air Traffic Management System for 2009-2015 was approved. Its goal is to improve flight safety and airspace efficiency. According to the results of the program implementation, by 2015 it was planned to commission 13 enlarged air traffic control centers, 100 Doppler meteorological radars, 26 aviation search and rescue centers.

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