Saab to digitalize Stockholm-Västerås Airport with remote air traffic control

Saab has entered into a 15-year agreement with municipal airport operator Nya Västerås Flygplats AB to deliver, maintain, and operate digital air traffic control infrastructure for Stockholm-Västerås Airport. Under the long-term contract effective January 1, 2028, aerodrome air traffic services will be transferred to Saab’s Remote Tower Center in Sundsvall, Sweden.

Optical Sensor Integration and Distributed Aerodrome Surveillance
The operational setup eliminates the need for physical personnel in a local control tower by deploying an on-field camera mast equipped with high-definition visual sensors, pan-tilt-zoom optical units, and integrated meteorological instrumentation. The optical system captures a 360-degree field of view of the runway, taxiways, apron, and local airspace. These data streams are transmitted across redundant, high-bandwidth terrestrial networks to the central facility in Sundsvall, located over 300 kilometers north of Västerås.

At the Remote Tower Center, controllers operate from digital workstations that reconstruct the visual airfield environment on high-resolution panoramic display arrays. The interface incorporates automated target tracking, digital zoom, optical image enhancement for low-visibility meteorological conditions, and synchronized aeronautical data feeds, including electronic flight progress strips, radio communications, and automated weather observation systems.

Service-Based Delivery and Infrastructure Scalability
The contract utilizes a service-based delivery framework wherein Saab retains ownership, operational responsibility, and continuous lifecycle maintenance for the digital hardware and software suite. Stockholm-Västerås Airport represents the fifth regional facility connected to the Sundsvall hub, following existing operations for Sundsvall-Timrå, Scandinavian Mountains Airport in Sälen, Örnsköldsvik, and Linköping.

Centralizing air traffic management across multiple regional sites within a common facility allows airport operators to avoid capital-intensive renovations of aging physical towers while maintaining aerodrome control service availability. Cecilia Larsson, Head of Saab Air Traffic Management, stated that the long-term contract reinforces digital air traffic management delivery models focused on operational safety and cost efficiency. Claes-Urban Boström, Chief Executive Officer of Nya Västerås Flygplats AB, confirmed that the digital implementation supports sustained infrastructure development for regional transport connectivity.

Additional Context:
This section details technical specifications and competitive benchmarking not included in the original product announcement

Digital aerodrome management and remote tower services operate under technical standards defined by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO Document 4444). In the commercial digital tower sector, Saab competes primarily against systems engineered by Frequentis (through the Frequentis DFS Aerosense joint venture) and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace.

Frequentis supplies the smartVISION digital tower platform, which has been deployed at international hubs including Leipzig/Halle Airport and Saarbrücken in Germany. The Frequentis system integrates high-resolution fixed cameras paired with infrared sensors, providing an optical pan-tilt-zoom inspection unit that tracks moving aircraft and surface vehicles automatically via artificial-intelligence-based computer vision. Frequentis reports capital expenditure reductions of up to 80 percent compared to constructing conventional brick-and-mortar tower structures, with operational expenditure savings reaching 18 percent through unified staffing models.

Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace develops the Kongsberg Digital Tower System, selected by Norwegian air navigation service provider Avinor for its centralized Remote Towers Centre in Bodø. The Kongsberg platform features an electro-optical sensor suite consisting of a rotating visual and thermal 360-degree sensor platform operating at frame rates exceeding 20 frames per second, integrated with a military-derived laser rangefinder and an open Service-Oriented Architecture utilizing the international Data Distribution Service standard.

Saab’s r-TWR platform differentiates itself by supporting centralized multi-aerodrome operations for up to 24 connected airports from a single Remote Tower Center. The architecture allows individual controller working positions to alternate between or simultaneously manage different regional airports depending on validated traffic density thresholds and regulatory approvals issued by national civil aviation authorities.

Edited by Natania Lyngdoh, Induportals editor, assisted by AI.

www.saab.com