Satellite-based Augmentation Systems (SBAS) improve the performance of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), increasing navigation accuracy and reliability, crucial for safety-critical operations such as landing procedures in civil aviation. To make sure these regional systems are compatible and interoperable, SBAS service providers meet periodically to cooperate and coordinate their actions.

The latest gathering, the 38th SBAS Interoperability Working Group (IWG), took place from 19 September to 21 September and was hosted by ESA’s European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) and SBAS Division in Toulouse, France, home to ESA’s EGNOS development teams.

In this meeting, specialists responsible for SBAS systems including EGNOS, the African ANGA, the North American WAAS, the Japanese MSAS, the Indian GAGAN, the Chinese BDSBAS, the South Korean KASS and SouthPAN of Australia and New Zealand reviewed the status of the different programmes and discussed standard updates and system upgrades.