A remote tower system will be installed, tested and certified at the Northern Colorado Regional Airport, a general aviation field in Loveland, Colorado, Searidge Technologies, the vendor that will build the system, announced this week. The project will provide a test site for the technology, and will increase efficiency and safety at the airport, Searidge said. “Searidge is looking forward to working with the FAA and [Colorado] Aeronautics to certify one of the first remote towers in the United States,” said Moodie Cheikh, CEO of Searidge, which is based in Ottawa, Canada. “We are confident in our team and our technology to deliver a flexible solution that will not only meet the needs of [the airport] but also demonstrate how such a system could be used around the country to provide safe, cost-effective control services.”
The remote tower will be the first in the world to integrate both video and radar to provide a comprehensive view of the airport surface and Class D airspace to air traffic controllers working in a remote facility, according to Searidge. The technology will enhance situational awareness of the airport environment and airspace that will be superior to that of a traditional airport traffic control tower, Searidge says, yet the costs of construction, operations and staffing will be about $9 million, much less than what would be required for a traditional control tower. One other remote tower is operating in the U.S., in Leesburg, Va. That system is currently being tested.
