15 March 2019 | By NAPMA Staff

Completion of CNS/ATM Programme

During a ceremony held on 7 February 2019 to celebrate the completion of the Production and Retrofit phase of the CNS/ATM programme, NAPMA General Manager, Brigadier General Michael Gschossmann, and the NAEW&C Force Commander, Major General Jörg Lebert, expressed their appreciation to all personnel involved in this important project.

Photo Caption: BGen Gschossmann (left), and MGen Lebert (right) celebrate the completion of the CNS/ATM programme.

BGen Gschossmann, who became the NAPMA General Manager on 1 Jan 2019, said that he is keenly aware of the critical importance of the CNS/ATM Dragon project and the operational capability it brings to the Force and the NATO Alliance. He highlighted the joint cooperation between NAPMA and the Force, but also the close collaboration between the US Air Force and NATO during the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase of the project.

After starting as a NATO-only initiative, this project finally “took off” as a cooperative effort between the US Air Force and NATO. The EMD phase of the project was executed under a single contract between the USAF and NATO with Boeing successfully conducting all EMD activities at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington.

On 16 January 2019, the 14th and last modified aircraft with the new glass cockpit arrived at Geilenkirchen Air Base, Germany, about two months later than what was originally envisioned when this project began 9 years ago. This small schedule slip is quite remarkable for such a complex acquisition project.

The delivery of this new capability to the Force ensures the compliance of NATO AWACS with current and future air traffic control and navigation requirements within European airspace.

NATO’s E‑3A fleet is the alliance’s first integrated, multinational flying unit, providing rapid deployment, airborne surveillance and command and control for NATO operations.

Photo Caption: New "glass" cockpit for the AWACS aircraft. Picture provided by Boeing.

The local media 1Limburg covered the new cockpit in a special broadcast (see link below).
https://l1.nl/l1mburg-centraal-nieuwe-cockpit-voor-awacs/


All rights are reserved to NAPMA - NATO AEW&C Programme Management Agency | NAPMA Website - Terms Of Use