DEFENCE, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
In the history of the Indian aviation industry, IndiGo became the first airline in the country to land aircraft using the indigenous navigation system GAGAN. This is a huge leap for Indian Civil Aviation and a firm step toward Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
India is the first country in Asia Pacific Region and the third country in the world to have its own Space-Based Augmentation System (SBAS) after the USA and Japan.
The flight ATR-72 aircraft landed at the Kishangarh airport in Rajasthan is the first to use the GPS-aided geo-augmented navigation (GAGAN) system.
The Airline fitted the GPS-enable system as per the direction of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). It issued a notification that all aircraft registered in India after July 1, 2021, to be fitted with GAGAN equipment.
GAGAN has been jointly developed by the Centre-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The system is used to provide lateral and vertical guidance when an aircraft is approaching a runway for landing. Its precision is especially useful at small airports where the instrument landing system (ILS) has not been installed.
It is a system to improve the accuracy of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver by providing reference signals. It is interoperable with other international SBAS systems. Currently, the satellites GSAT-8 and GSAT-10 satellites have the GAGAN payloads.