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Tuesday,
August 21,
2007, #159 (1426)
By Ana Datiashvili By the end of September, the Black Sea port town of Poti will be decked out with a new civil radar installation, beefing up the country's radar network and bringing it closer to international standards. Iuri Trubicini, the technical director of the state air navigation regulatory agency, says that depending on the weather, the USD 1 million radar station's coverage has a radius of 450 kilometers-reaching north into Russia and the breakaway region of Abkhazia. "This technology is only in some European countries, and the rest of the continent is planning to move on to this new technology in 2010?2012. But tomorrow in Georgia, we'll begin using it," Trubicini told the Messenger on August 20. The new radar station, which is to track civilian aircraft only, has been in the works for months. Air traffic officials say the upgrade to the system will boost airspace control and safety in the entire region. "This radar gives us overlapping coverage, not only my country-we can also help neighboring countries in controlling their airspace," said Giorgi Karbelashvili, director general of the air navigation agency. Trubicini told
the Messenger the new system will raise safety levels, putting the country
on track to reach international standards within a year. European countries,
he said, have multiple radar station giving overlapping coverage. "We underwent training at the factory in Taliss, France, where this radar is made," said technician Mikheil Gogua. "Our responsibility is to provide 24 hours of uninterrupted service. This will be an overlapping coverage zone," added Davit Gogua, another technician. The radar station
will come online in September, and there are plans to build another
in eastern Georgia. |
New
civil radar station ups coverage in western Georgia