Making I-CNS A Reality

2026-07-22

In recent years a lot of attention has gone into the concept of integrating Communication, Navigation, and Surveillance (CNS) services. While no clear criteria exist for what exactly constitutes “integrated” CNS, a common interpretation is that a single radio technology will serve multiple purposes, potentially covering all three domains. This perspective is most attractive in the sense of spectrum efficiency, as each radio link will serve multiple domains simultaneously, instead of a single one. In addition to the multi-domain utility of L-band digital aeronautical communication system (LDACS), MIAR will also implement various Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) technologies to concurrently provide a modular approach to navigation. The project aims to demonstrate that LDACS can support CNS services on an aircraft. The proposal is centered around flight experiments, which will use LDACS-based CNS services to provide optimized separation between aircraft in real time, thus making optimal use of the airspace while being spectrum efficient. In addition to multi-domain use of one technology, MIAR will also feature the ability to support NAV services from multiple, modularly interchangeable technologies. This aspect will be an important piece to the standardization of “Modular APNT”. A real-time, in-flight demonstration of separation controls will be the first of its kind using a single physical layer: LDACS. This fact, combined with the ambition of bringing all components to TRL-6, is a show of the potential for LDACS and other new technologies to support the future of aviation. MIAR will cover two crucial developments, which will be world-first: use of LDACS for integrated CNS and the use of multiple non-GNSS technologies to provide an integrated navigation solution. Neither of the two has ever been demonstrated in flight, so MIAR poses a unique opportunity to accomplish two world firsts in one project.

Germany, Spain, Austria, Czechia, Italy, Belgium

2026-02-15