Digital towers

Digital tower technology gives airports a safer, more cost-efficient way to deliver staffed-tower capabilities without relying on traditional tower infrastructure. It can support both uncontrolled airports seeking tower services and controlled airports evaluating lower-cost modernization options or to supplement their facilities to address blind spots.

With Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification recently approved, digital towers offer the opportunity to use one remote facility to manage multiple airport sites using high-resolution cameras and ground-to-aircraft communications. This approach can provide enhanced safety and operational control while reducing construction and recurring operations and maintenance costs.

When compared to building a traditional air traffic control tower (ATCT), a digital tower costs about half as much to construct, and maintenance costs are a fraction of the amount for a traditional ATCT. A digital tower control center can be designed to accommodate multiple airports’ digital towers, reducing each facility’s operational costs. Digital towers also increase safety with pan-tilt-zoom cameras that employ visual and infrared sensors, along with light gun capabilities. Their bounding box function allows controllers to easily track aircraft in the flight pattern and identify in-motion hazards, both airborne and within the movement areas on the ground.

Through our partnership with Frequentis, the leading digital tower provider involved in the FAA technology certification (SDA) process, Hanson can help airports access advanced digital tower capabilities. This partnership, combined with our relationships in the construction community, enables us to offer design-build turnkey solutions for airports that are looking for a cost-effective alternative to a traditional physical control tower.

For more information about our digital tower services, contact Blake Swafford, P.E., regional vice president, aviation, at (678) 410-0170 or bswafford@hanson-inc.com.