The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) has retendered for the supply, delivery, installation, training, testing and commissioning of an Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (A-SMGCS) for Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi.
The project covers a redundant A-SMGCS designed with no single point of failure. KCAA requires a client-server architecture based on an overall dual-channel configuration, with servers operating in active and hot-standby mode to provide high availability. The system must be modular, scalable and multi-redundant, with reserved capacity for future interfaces, additional sectors, controller positions and further A-SMGCS functions.
The specification requires the system to be ICAO A-SMGCS Level 2 ready, providing surveillance and airport safety support services. It must also be upgradable to routing, planning and guidance services, with the broader requirement allowing for future upgrade to ICAO A-SMGCS Level 4 when the aerodrome infrastructure is available.
At JKIA, the control tower installation will include two ground controller working positions, one supervisor position, one technical monitoring and control position, and one recording and replay position. The ground controller position must include electronic flight strips to support workflow management and the representation of managed flights and vehicles. A separate training module at the East African School of Aviation will comprise two controller working positions connected to the JKIA A-SMGCS for training purposes, without affecting the live operational system.
The A-SMGCS local area network must be supplied and installed as a dual redundant network, using separate network equipment and cabling for each LAN. All workstations and servers must use the redundant LANs so that failure of a single LAN does not affect operational functionality. Communication between the JKIA control tower cabin and ground level will be provided through a fibre communication network supplied by the tenderer.
Surveillance integration forms a central part of the technical scope. The system must integrate with existing ADS-B, primary surveillance radar and secondary surveillance radar at JKIA, while also being capable of accepting and integrating future surveillance sensor sources. The surveillance system must include multiple sensor types with data fusion capability, including at least one Surface Movement Radar compliant with EUROCAE ED-116.
The system must detect, track and continuously provide accurate positional data for all mobiles and obstacles within its coverage area. This includes moving and static objects across the aerodrome movement areas, runway strips, safety areas and protected areas defined in JKIA’s Aerodrome Manual. KCAA specifies continuous coverage of the airport movement area, including runways, taxiways, aprons and stands, with vertical coverage extending to at least 200 metres above ground level for low-level operations, missed approaches and helicopter traffic.
The Surveillance Data Fusion function must correlate and fuse target reports from all sensors, track target movements and provide the best-estimate position at each update. The system must support international surveillance data formats, including ASTERIX categories specified in the tender, and provide interfaces to existing data sources using proven protocols and formats including ASTERIX, TCP and UDP.
Airport safety support is a core requirement. The system must include safety net functionality, runway monitoring and conflict alerting. It must also be capable of upgrade to conformance monitoring for ATC clearances, clearance and taxi conflict functions, routing and planning, and guidance.
The human-machine interface must display the aerodrome layout, including runways, taxiways, aprons and buildings. It must also display or provide access to aircraft type, flight identification, departure and destination aerodromes, estimated arrival and departure times, assigned stand and stand status, wake vortex category, slot time where applicable, assigned runway, SID, STAR or approach procedure, speed and transponder code. The display resolution must be at least 1920 x 1080 pixels.
Recording and replay capability is also specified. The system must record data communications, synchronisation with voice communications, displayed information and operator inputs for accident and incident investigation. It must also be capable of recording A-SMGCS service data and providing playback in line with ICAO requirements, including capture of playback in a standard video format.
Cybersecurity is included as part of the technical requirements. The system must have a limited number of users and roles to simplify management and reduce risk. Software version information must not be exposed on application services, unauthorised access must be rejected and application software must run under a non-privileged user account. System utilities capable of bypassing access controls must be disabled or not installed.
Interfaces must have dedicated Interface Control Documents, use authentication where supported by external systems and reject invalid data at the interface side. Further cybersecurity requirements include password expiry, delays and account blocking after repeated failed login attempts, deactivation of unnecessary programmes, services, plug-ins, network ports and protocols, restricted peripheral device access and encrypted administrator traffic using SSH. The tender also specifies secure protocols such as SSH and VPN, together with best-practice measures including Zero Trust Architecture, data encryption, firewalls, antivirus protection, regular software updates and regular backups of critical data.
KCAA requires the system to operate continuously, 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. System availability must be at least 99.95%, with seamless switchover, data integrity checks and the ability to conduct essential maintenance without interrupting operations. Power requirements include 230V AC single phase supply, duplicate power supply modules for servers, overvoltage and over-current protection, and a UPS for JKIA equipment with autonomy of at least 30 minutes.
Environmental and physical protection requirements are also included. Ground sensors and electronics must withstand lightning, power surges and electrostatic discharge in line with aviation EMC test standards, and must continue operating correctly when exposed to strong radio frequency signals present at an airport, including radar, radio, mobile and Wi-Fi signals.
Training forms part of the project scope. The contractor must provide an approved training plan and course syllabus for KCAA, covering technical and operational staff for the equipment supplied at JKIA and the East African School of Aviation. Training must include factory training before factory acceptance testing and on-site training before site acceptance testing. Technical training must cover A-SMGCS architecture, configuration, hardware, software installation and updating, Surface Movement Radar principles, surveillance data formats and fusion, routing services, airport safety support services, and guidance and control services.
Long-term support is also required. The bidder must provide critical spares for the three-year warranty period, commit to spare parts availability, equipment repair and continued system operability for at least ten years after the warranty period, and propose a five-year service and maintenance agreement after the warranty period.
The KCAA tender sets out a broad operational technology project for JKIA, covering surveillance integration, Surface Movement Radar, sensor fusion, controller displays, electronic flight strips, safety nets, recording and replay, cybersecurity, system redundancy, training and long-term technical support.
