News

New frequency improves ability to locate distress signals

  • Published
  • By Amanda Creel
  • 78 ABW/PA
Robins Air Force Base, GA --  A simple change of frequency for transmitting distress signals could mean the difference between being rescued or lost at sea for pilots and captains around the world.

"This isn't just a military project; this is a world-wide civilian, commercial and military requirement for all aircraft in the sky and boats in the sea," said Barry Fulton, a program manager with the 565th Aircraft Sustainment Squadron.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Search and Rescue Satellite-aided Tracking is requiring all air and sea-bound vessels to install new Emergency Locater Transmitters broadcasting at 406 megahertz instead of 121.5 and 243 megahertz by Feb. 1, 2009.

The upgraded ELT will not only transmit a swept tone, but will also transmit data such as the ID number of the transmitter on the 406 MHz frequency.

One of the main problems with the existing frequency is that when it transmits a tone, there is no way to determine where the distress call originated. The new frequency improves the ability to locate distress signals because the transmitter is equipped with an ID number, which can be linked with the aircraft's identification or contact information including the organization name and a phone number to contact during an emergency.

Another benefit of the updated ELT is the 406 MHz beacon allows the search area to be reduced from 756 nautical miles squared to 16.8 nautical miles squared.

"It reduces the amount of time our Airmen are in harm's way. It really enhances the capability of the search and rescue teams to get them out quickly," said 1st Lt. Jonathan Reeves, an avionics engineer on the project.

The C-5 Galaxy, which is sustained here, is joining all other air and sea vessels around the world as they upgrade to the new frequency in an effort to reduce rescue times.

Members of the C-5 sustainment team are working diligently to ensure the 111 aircraft in the fleet are inline with the rest of the air and sea vessels throughout the world as quickly as possible.

"We are starting to get it all lined up and ready to install as soon as possible," Lieutenant Reeves said.

Mr. Fulton said because of the large size of the C-5 fleet and the large financial scale of the project, the fleet may not be completed as soon as he'd hoped.

Although the changes will not be made immediately, the military will still have the technology and equipment to monitor aircraft at the former frequency, even though the SARSAT will no longer monitor at those frequencies, Lieutenant Reeves said.

He added that though the military would have the capability to track the aircraft in the meantime it was still an important transition to make because this allowed both the military and the SARSAT to work together to locate troops in distress.

"This will take the search time and search area and drastically reduce it, while increasing the response time," Lieutenant Reeves said.