Robust EGNSS Technology for Windshear Estimation

In the framework of the air transport safety, one open issue is represented by the wind shear phenomenon. Although wind shear is typically correlated with severe atmospheric conditions, such as microburst or downburst caused by thunderstorm or cyclones, it could happens also in apparently quiet conditions. In fact, a great variety of physical effects could possibly create hazardous wind regions also in absence of a cloud formation or any visual signal; for instance due to coast effect or close to mountain ranges, jet streams are the major responsible for the so-called Clean Air Turbulence. This phenomenon becomes particularly dangerous at low altitudes (Low Level Windshear, or LLW) in particular if it does occur near the surface, or even worse during take-off/landing operation on airfields or runways. In these latter cases the unexpected and severe wind variations over an airport or its premises might jeopardize the safety of the aircraft and its passengers. Several accidents occurred due to undetected wind shear phenomena causing a loss of control of the aircraft and its consequent crash, usually with multiple fatalities. Aircraft pilots are usually well trained to cope with wind shear events, nevertheless the detection of such phenomenon still demand specific equipment. At present, few systems are available to monitor and detect wind shear, based on different core technologies, such as Low Level Windshear Alert System (LLWAS) and Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging (LIDAR). These system have advantages in terms of precision and reliability, but also a great drawback related to specific meteorological conditions, which will reduce or null their reliability. BE-WISE proposes a commercial cost-effective, reliable and real time solution to address wind shear detection problems in the proximity of airport runaways, based on passive technologies that exploit E-GNSS services (European Global Navigation Satellite System ).