World’s First Next-Generation Emergency Beacon for Commercial Aircraft

Orolia, the world leader in Resilient Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) solutions, is introducing a world first in aviation safety technology, the Kannad Ultima-S Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) for commercial aircraft. The Kannad Ultima-S, designed to be installed in the cabin of commercial aircraft or in its life raft, is the first ELT capable of notifying the crew about the launch of a Search and Rescue operation via Galileo Return Link Service (RLS).

Orolia’s Kannad Ultima-S ELT was developed under a two-year contract through the European GNSS Agency’s Tauceti Project. Other key features include:

• Certified to the new lithium battery regulations to avoid the risk of battery fires.
• A multi-GNSS receiver to accept multiple signals such as GPS, Galileo, etc. to detect the aircraft’s location faster and deploy rescue teams sooner than ever before.
• Dual activation modes: manually or automatically upon contact with water.
• A Return Link Service (RLS) option to notify the crew that the distress signal has been received and help is on the way (available on Galileo).
• Multiple configurations available to install in aircraft cabins and life rafts. With a rugged, compact, and easy to install form factor, both versions can be easily installed through a carry-off bag or a mounting bracket and require little storage room. 

Orolia’s Kannad Ultima-S meets new and evolving EASA/FAA requirements related to ELTs and non-rechargeable lithium batteries documented under the RTCA DO-227A standard.

“Orolia is dedicated to making air travel even safer than it is today with resilient positioning and aircraft location technology, featuring automatic, manual and remote activation modes to provide a complete ELT portfolio. Passengers can rely on Kannad Ultima-S to be located accurately and rescued as quickly as possible in case an aircraft evacuation is needed,” said Christian Belleux, Aviation Product Line Director at Orolia. “We are excited to present aircraft operators with an affordable, reliable and state of the art ELT solution for cabin modifications or linefit installations.”

The new ELT benefits from the proven Cospas Sarsat infrastructure, which is currently being upgraded to provide highly accurate location data and nearly real-time reporting to Search and Rescue operators through global coverage. Kannad Ultima-S survival distress beacons complement Orolia’s Ultima family of next-generation ELTs, following the company announcement of the Global Aeronautical Distress and Safety System (GADSS)-compliant fixed Ultima-DT. Orolia provides aircraft manufacturers and operators with a complete solution for every ELT application. For more information, visit Tauceti’s dedicated website:http://www.tauceti-gsa-project.eu/

Orolia will exhibit at the Paris Air Show from June 17th to June 20th, Hall 2B booth E32, where both new ELTs will be displayed for the first time.