by Elsie Clark | Nov 17, 2025 | Avionics, Connectivity, Innovation
Fokker Services Group has launched a new anti-spoofing solution for the protection of critical avionics systems.
Rather than just detecting GPS spoofing and jamming, the Dutch company says the solution actively defends aircraft systems from attempted attacks. Providing a ‘full-spectrum’ defence, the countermeasures can be integrated with any avionics system and do not require additional pilot training.
Fokker Services CEO Menzo van der Beek said:
Safety is at the heart of everything we do. We assembled a team of experts to develop a solution that directly addresses the hazards posed by GPS disruptions. With very positive test results and expected entry into service scheduled for January 2026 with undisclosed launching operators, we’re confident this solution will bring peace of mind to pilots, crews, and airlines.
The introduction of such a solution comes at a critical time in aerospace. GPS spoofing and jamming incidents have increased significantly in Eastern Europe and the Middle East over the past few years. In one of 2025’s most high-profile incidents, a suspected Russian GPS attack forced pilots carrying the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to land her plane with paper maps.
Traffic Collision Avoidance Systems (TCAS), Flight Management Systems (FMS), and the Terrain Avoidance Warning Systems (TAWS) are among the avionics systems that can be targeted during such attacks. Developing robust security and defence systems is critical to maintain the safe positioning and landing of air crew and passengers.
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by Elsie Clark | Sep 29, 2025 | Connectivity, Flight Ops IT
An incident at Nice Côte d’Azur Airport is under investigation after two aircraft came within three metres of each other on the runway, narrowly avoiding a crash.
The near-accident occurred on Sunday 21 September at around 21.30 local time during stormy, foggy conditions. A Nouvelair A320 from Tunis Carthage Airport came into land and flew metres above an easyJet flight on the runway, bound for Nantes.
Eyewitnesses said that the easyJet aircraft shook as the Nouvelair plane passed overhead. The flight to Nantes was subsequently cancelled, and the easyJet pilot was reported to have left the craft in distress. The Nouvelair plane was forced to go-around and landed safely shortly after.
The French Minister of Transport, Philippe Tabaro, has opened an investigation into the near-collision through the Bureau d’enquêtes et d’analyses (BEA).
Stormy conditions emphasise limitations of available positioning tech
The situation at Nice Airport was complicated by the poor weather conditions that forced many flights to be delayed, diverted, or cancelled. In an amusing high-profile incident, Formula One drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc ended up driving a van back to Monaco from Italy after their plane to Nice was unexpectedly diverted on the evening of 21 September.
Possibly, the incident between the easyJet and Nouvelair planes would have occurred if visibility had been better. Yet the near-accident also highlights the shortcomings of air traffic control and the inability of aircraft to position themselves safely in relation to each other.
Recently, Aerospace Tech Review also reported on Honeywell’s testing new SURF-A technology, which the company claims will improve pilots’ situational awareness and prevent runway incidents. The test recreated two famous near-collisions at American airports and demonstrated how real-time alerts could have been used to prevent them.
Yet technology can be fallible too. The drama that unfolded at Nice last week only highlights once again the importance of ongoing safety improvements and multiple backups to guarantee the safety of passengers and crew.
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by Elsie Clark | Sep 19, 2025 | Avionics, MRO IT
Avionics on IndiGo’s fleet of 430 A320 Airbus aircraft will now be maintained by Thales.
The new agreement lasts for 11 years, and includes IndiGo’s growth plans to increase its fleet to 800 craft. Thales’s Repair By The Hour (RBTH) and Avionics By The Hour (ABTH) solutions will be deployed to reduce downtime and ensure critical components are available.
The repairs will take place at IndiGo’s new avionics MRO facility near Delhi Airport in India. An additional 5-year contract has been signed with AvioBook Flight, a Thales company. AvioBook is the only Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) solution authorised by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for paperless EFB, and provides pilots with essential digital tools to manage their crews.
Parichay Datta, Senior Vice-president, Engineering, IndiGo, said:
We are pleased to partner with Thales, a leading aerospace company trusted worldwide for its expertise in avionics support, to augment IndiGo’s maintenance and repairs capabilities.
With IndiGo’s growing scale and fleet, this association aligns with our commitment to offer a hassle-free and safe flying experience to our customers, while ensuring operational excellence and reliability
India has surpassed Brazil and Indonesia to become the world’s third-largest domestic aviation market. Earlier this week, IndiGo announced plans for a route to Athens from January 2026, as it expands its European strategy.
Since its founding in 2005, the airline has become the largest airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size. The partnership with Thales represents a significant step forward in the company’s efforts to guarantee its growing number of pilots and passengers with safety and efficiency.
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by Elsie Clark | Sep 16, 2025 | Avionics, Innovation
Honeywell has confirmed that their new Surface Alerts (SURF-A) cockpit technology was trialled in Kansas City, US, in late August,
SURF-A was showcased alongside Honeywell’s already-certified SmartRunway/SmartLanding (SmartX) product, in two demonstrations that recreated real-life near-collisions.
SmartX provides audio and visual clues to pilots during high-stress phases of flights, alerting them to configuration errors and wrong-surface alignments in real-time. SURF-A, meanwhile, has been specifically designed to alert pilots when traffic is on the runway. Callouts are given, and text appears on the display screen if another aircraft in the runway engagement zone presents a collision risk.
As global air traffic increases, cockpit alerts are needed to prevent accidents and close margins of error. Honeywell’s tests of SURF-A at Kansas City recreated two notable incidents from recent years: a February 2023 near-collision at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport during fog, and a January 2023 event at New York JFK where an aircraft taxied onto an active runway.
In the recreations of both scenarios, cockpit alerts warned of the traffic ahead, giving the pilots ample time to react and divert the aircraft’s movements.
Honeywell expects SURF-A certification for commercial aircraft in 2026. Southwest Airlines is currently deploying SmartX across its fleet of Boeing 737s, with more than 700 aircraft activated to date.
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by Elsie Clark | Sep 1, 2025 | Avionics, Innovation
Aviation innovators XTI Aerospace have selected the Garmin G700 TXi avionics system for its pioneering TriFan 600 xVTOL aircraft.
Its user-friendly touchscreen interface will provide future xVTOL pilots with essential situational awareness data, including traffic updates, weather maps, and Garmin’s trademark Synthetic Vision Technology (SVT). The avionics system will enhance overall flight safety and monitoring in XTI’s cutting-edge aircraft.
Don Purdy, SVP and Interim President of XTI Aircraft, commented:
This avionics suite is a fantastic match for the TriFan 600. Garmin’s G700 TXi offers the reliability, innovation, and pilot features to efficiently and safely operate the transformational xVTOL aircraft – operating from traditional runways, short runways, heliports and other approved landing areas.
Electrical vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft are currently being piloted for short ‘air taxi’ trips. The eVTOL market is predicted to be worth $4.67 billion by 2030 as demand for sustainable, noise-free flight increases and more companies execute successful tech pilots.
With their flagship TriFan 600 xVTOL, XTI hope to go further and create a more manoeuvrable aircraft that has a range of over 900 miles. Additional developmental tests are scheduled for 2027 as the company aspires to certification from the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA).
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