FINAL REPORT - Stakeholders - Ofcom

Table 3-14: Summary of Developments
3.4.11.2 Recommendations
Recommendation 3.21: Ofcom should work with the CAA to ensure the timely
decommissioning of non-operationally required radio navigation aids, in particular, NDBs
and VORs. The following caveats apply:
• The requirements of General Aviation and the Military for NDBs and VORs in the
UK must be urgently addressed;
• The impact of an RNAV only environment should be assessed, particularly from
a safety and security viewpoint.
Socio-economic factors
Costs of Equipment – Ground: The ATSP (NATS UK or specific airport authorities) has
the responsibility to provide navigation aids for aircraft in their airspace/airport. Costs to
be borne include: the original purchase (capital costs), maintenance costs (annual costs),
and replacement costs (at the end of the navigation aids’ lifetime).
Looking at the en-route environment, these costs include DME, VOR and NDBs.
Evidently GNSS is not part of this structure (co-ordinated at an international level). Table
3-15 shows the approximate annual cost for the UK (at 2002 prices). The table assumes
a 15 year lifespan for navigation aids, meaning that 7% must be replaced year on year.
Annual Total Annual
Number Lifespan (yrs) Capital Cost Running Cost Cost
DME 48 15 £ 70,000 £ 1,700 £ 0.31 M
VOR 50 15 £ 170,000 £ 7,700 £ 0.97 M
NDB 11 15 £ 25,000 £ 1,700 £ 0.03 M
Annual Cost £ 1.31 M
Table 3-15 – Annual En-route Navigation Infrastructure Costs
The total cost of maintaining the UK en-route navigation infrastructure is therefore
approximately £ 1.3 M per annum. The potential savings from decommissioning VOR and
NDB are in the order of £ 1.0 M per annum.
When we add in the UK airport environment, this annual decommissioning saving
becomes more pronounced (see Table 3-16 below), being approximately £ 1.8 M.
Annual Total Annual
Number Lifespan (yrs) Capital Cost Running Cost Cost
DME 66
75 (incl. 24
15 £ 70,000 £ 1,700 £ 0.42 M
VOR TACANs) 15 £ 170,000 £ 7,700 £ 1.45 M
NDB 118 15 £ 25,000 £ 1,700 £ 0.37 M
Annual Cost £ 2.26 M
Table 3-16 – UK Navigation Aid Costs (Airports and En-route)
Note that this should be balanced against requirements for extra DMEs to support RNAV
operations. However, as can be seen from the tables above, the annual and capital
expenditure for DMEs is far less than for VORs.
In the airport environs, the cost of equipment has an increased influence over the choice
of system. Part of the reason for the slow up-take of MLS is the high cost of the system
when compared against ILS – and this coupled with the long lifetimes of ILS equipment.
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