iscover
A Navy helicopter has helped Airservices test its new “digital tower” at Western Sydney International Airport (WSI) ahead of this year’s opening.
The EC-135 training helicopter conducted a “series of passes and manoeuvres” near the 45-metre digital aerodrome service (DAS) mast at WSI on Thursday to help calibrate and validate the camera feeds, Airservices said.
This content is available exclusively to Australian Aviation members.
A monthly membership is only $5.99 or save with our annual plans.
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
“Once fully operational, the Digital Aerodrome Service will enable air traffic controllers based at Eastern Creek to observe the aerodrome through an advanced camera system,” an Airservices spokesperson said.
“The 25 high-resolution cameras will provide a 360° view, object tracking, and the ability to superimpose operational information onto a live video feed.
“The flight today is helping validate this critical aviation infrastructure by testing the images from our cameras at specific longitudes and latitudes over and around the aerodrome.
“We will be using the information gathered today to ensure Australia’s first fully operational Digital Aerodrome Service is ready to go when the airport opens.”
Digital aerodrome services use cameras and sensors to replace traditional physical air traffic control towers, and are faster and cheaper to construct. The digital tower, operated from a new centre at Eastern Creek in Sydney’s west, will be the first of its kind in Australia when it opens in 2026.
Developed in partnership with technology providers CDC and Frequentis Australasia, the DAS will use more than 20 high-resolution cameras, sending data on the airport and surrounding airspace to the Eastern Creek control hub, with new management tools and features such as object tracking, night vision and image enhancement.
“DAS technology is a proven technology which is already in use globally, including airports in London and Europe,” the spokesperson said.
Speaking to Australian Aviation last month, chief executive Rob Sharp said the WSI tower is “well-progressed”, and Airservices is looking to bring it online in July.
“The tower’s up, camera feeds are in, and it’s very, very impressive. We took the regulator CASA for a tour, their management team out there in the last month, and we were very pleased with that,” he said.
“Because it is a new technology here, extensive safety cases have been prepared and reviewed by CASA, and we’re working with them through that process. That is an important step.”
Airservices is planning to deploy DAS towers at a number of airports around Australia, including Canberra, which saw a 30-metre mast installed in late 2024, and Ballina-Byron.
