Lucka Koubková Mračková, ERA CSR specialist, received a diploma and a gift for the company from the school´s headmistress Miluše Horská - the linocut Three Graces created by students during art education.]]> https://www.era.aero/en/about-era/news/era-received-the-grace-award-from-the-school-svitani-for-long-term-support https://www.era.aero/en/about-era/news/era-received-the-grace-award-from-the-school-svitani-for-long-term-support Wed, 01 Jul 2026 09:47:22 +0200 At the recent ILA Berlin Air Show, ERA and Airbus Defence and Space demonstrated the first tangible results of their cooperation within the framework of Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD). Signed in August 2025, the partnership aims to integrate ERA’s passive surveillance data into Airbus air defence Command and Control (C2) solutions.

The demonstration showcased the seamless integration of data from ERA’s VERA-NG passive electronic support measures tracker (PET) system with Airbus Defence and Space’s Fortion® 1SkyControl air battle management software. During the demonstration, the Airbus system successfully received, displayed, and replayed VERA-NG data within a simulated scenario alongside active radar data. This integration proved the significant operational benefits of a fused sensor approach, substantially increasing situational awareness - particularly in low-altitude airspace.

“The expansion of the AirC2 system with a passive PET system is a milestone ,” said Andreas Reinecke, Head of Defence Digital & Cyber at Airbus Defence and Space. “This development will deliver significant operational advantages to Airbus Defence and Space and ERA customers in the future.”

This milestone marks the first tangible result of the Airbus Defence and Space-ERA cooperation. Future efforts will focus on using the VERA-NG data for classification and the exploration of electromagnetic spectrum capabilities to strengthen the IAMD offerings of both companies.

Furthermore, a parallel stream of integration activities targets civil-military cooperation. By integrating Airbus Defence and Space’s military 1SkyControl with ERA’s civil air traffic management system, ERIS, both companies are implementing a "system-of-systems" approach. This aims to provide complete military and civil situational awareness from a single workstation, while fully complying with both military and civilian certification requirements.

“We are pleased to see this cooperation expanding,” commented Ondřej Chlost, CEO of ERA, a.s. “There is growing customer interest not only in integrating VERA-NG data into C2 systems but also in breaking down the silos between military and civil airspace management.”

ERA further extended its partners´ impressive presence at ILA to primary underline the agreed partnership and ongoing cooperation in the field of passive surveillance systems and multi-sensor tracking capabilities for ground-based air defence systems. ERA team showcased its proven Passive ESM Tracker (PET) VERA-NG, demonstrating its critical role across key defence frameworks:

1️⃣ As a complementary passive sensor enhancing the multi-sensor capability of the IRIS-T SLM ground-based air defence (GBAD) system, produced by Diehl Defence.

2️⃣ As an interoperable passive sensor integrated into the Air Battle Management System in cooperation with Airbus Defence and Space.

3️⃣ In seamless sensor complementarity with HENSOLDT.

Furthermore, a parallel stream of integration activities targets civil-military cooperation. By integrating Airbus’s military 1SkyControl with ERA’s civil air traffic management system ERIS, both companies are implementing a "system-of-systems" approach. This aims to provide complete military and civil situational awareness from a single workstation, while fully complying with both military and civilian certification requirements.

Next, the importance of passive sensor integration into air defence structures, capability to passively identify threads has been also stressed during related conference with presence of key German stakeholders from Luftwaffe and confirmed by ERA industrial partners who work together to make it happen.

ERA presented the last generation of its PET system VERA-NG and the over the horizon system for long distance surveillance PLESS to various foreign delegations of army specialists, politicians and other VIPs. The Czech Minister of Defence Jaromír Zůna and the Ambassador of the Czech Republic to France and Monaco, H.E. Jaroslav Kurfürst, both visited the stand of OMNIPOL Group and became acquainted with the presented technologies and activities of its companies.

Eurosatory brings together the entire defence and security industry to source the latest equipment and systems and generate new business opportunities. This year's exhibition set historical records. Expanding into Hall 4 to cover over 185,000 m², the event hosted over 2,600 exhibitors from more than 68 countries and featured over 40 national pavilions. The show attracted more than 43,000 global visitors. The number of new products, unveiled for the first time at the Eurosatory trade fair, progressed significantly this year.

This year ERA, as the market leader in supplying multilateration technology, showcased its brand-new Transmitting Module TM01 as an integral part of its proven MSS-5 multi-sensor (multilateration and ADS-B) system for the first time. Another new and useful feature of this system, which ERA team introduced in Lisbon, is the possibility to use it in form of the standalone ADS-B station, i.e. ready-to-use solution, allowing the customer to deploy it independently in a simple “plug and play” manner.

ERA team welcomed dozens of its partners and other guests to its “World of Multilateration” at the joint stand with a Slovak subsidiary R-SYS at the exhibition centre Feira Internacional de Lisboa. Within the exhibition they experienced triple success:

1/ ERA in a consortium with Polish company GISS Sp. z o.o., and Polish Air Navigation Services Agency (PANSA) have signed a contract for a project WAM South in Poland. ERA acting with GISS will deliver a Wide Area Multilateration/ADS-B system to cover the airspace above the southern part of Poland, including the Terminal Manoeuvring Area of the Kraków International John Paul II airport. (Read more on page…)

2/ ERA and State Enterprise “Kyrkgyzaeronavigatsia” (ANSP of Kyrgyzstan) have signed a contract for a delivery of WAM System covering the southern part of the airspace of the Kyrgyz Republic. ERA will provide Air Traffic Control solution based on its MSS-5 system. (Read more on page…)

3/ On top of that R-SYS becomes the first Slovak company to obtain EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) DPO (Design or Production Organisation) Certification for air traffic management and air navigation systems. The EASA DPO certificate confirms the organisation’s capability to design and manufacture ATM/ANS equipment in compliance with the latest European regulatory and safety requirements. The certificate was handed over by EASA official to R-SYS CEO Marek Náhlík within the exhibition.

This year's Airspace World Lisbon was the most successful edition to date, bringing together more than 7,000 aviation and air traffic management professionals from 136 countries, alongside over 220 exhibitors and 350 industry-leading speakers. The scale, energy, and quality of engagement throughout the week once again demonstrated why this event remains the premier global gathering for the ATM and wider aviation community.

See video: https://youtu.be/_jTn1Qip268

ERA successfully completed a complex WAM project in Lithuania, overcoming key challenges related to cybersecurity, safety, quality, and delivery lead time. Cybersecurity was ensured through a secure system architecture, controlled access, and continuous monitoring, providing full protection of data and systems throughout the lifecycle. ERA has thus established a top-level bar to follow in this pilot project example.

Safety was ensured in strict compliance with European regulations and EUROCAE standards, resulting in an incident-free execution. High quality was achieved through close and effective cooperation between ERA and Oro Navigacija, the Lithuanian Air Navigation Service Provider.

“Oro Navigacija, as the customer, demonstrated exceptional professionalism with a highly skilled team that effectively managed all the required domains, ensuring smooth coordination and decision-making throughout the project. The strong collaboration and mutual trust between ERA and Oro Navigacija were key success factors,” stated Ondřej Chlost, ERA CEO.

“Despite a very tight schedule, the project was delivered on time thanks to effective planning, strong coordination, and proven project management experience. This project clearly demonstrates ERA’s capability to deliver and certify secure, safe, and high-quality solutions within demanding timelines,” said the CEO of Oro navigacija Saulius Batavičius.

ERA has signed a contract with Oro navigacija to provide monitoring of air traffic over the Republic of Lithuania and beyond its borders with its WAM system in April 2024. The new system WAM Lithuania is designed to cover the entire nation’s airspace along with the outskirts beyond the Lithuanian border, including part of the Baltic seashore. ERA as the primary contractor delivered a network of ground stations of its surveillance system MSS-5 and Lithuania thus joined the long list of countries, which benefit from countrywide coverage thanks to multilateration technology, invented and designed by ERA.

The lecture on their research work explored how advanced AI methods can help sensors make smarter real-time decisions, enhancing performance and adaptability in complex environments.

„It was great to see our innovation contributing to the global radar and signal processing community,“ stated ERA Manager of R&D Programme.

His team´s research focuses on using reinforcement learning to enable distributed sensors to intelligently decide what to observe and when in real time, thereby improving efficiency, coverage and responsiveness in complex electromagnetic environments. By combining advanced algorithms with practical system design, this research demonstrates how AI can enable the development of the next generation of adaptive, high-performance sensing systems.

Come along and explore the future of air surveillance! You will find us co-staffing at Berlin ExpoCenter Airport in Defence Parks G100 (Diehl stand) and G200 (HENSOLDT stand) and at Airbus Tactical Operations Centre at the Static Display.

The President of the Republic of Bulgaria lliana Yotova paid a visit to the joint ERA/AERO stand on the first day. She was leading an animated discussion with the ERA and AERO representatives about the possibilities of the defence systems and technologies they develop, such as VERA-NG Passive ESM Tracker and L-39 Skyfox training jet.  Among other VIPs Czech experts also welcomed Ivan Vasilev – the Bulgarian Minister of Innovation and Digital Transformation, H. E. Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Bulgaria Miroslav Toman, and the representative of the Czech Ministry of Defence Michal Oravec.

The ERA representative also introduced the company at the Czech Embassy during a presentation of the Czech defence industry to Bulgarian politicians and industrial companies. The Czech Ambassador, Deputy Bulgarian Defence Minister Katerina Gramatikova, and representatives of the Bulgarian Defence Industry Association were present.

Bulgaria is an important business partner for ERA in civil sector, ERA has already two ATM surveillance systems installed at Sofia Airport and now ERA team has tried to present Czech original know-how also for military purposes.

HEMUS has been the Bulgaria's largest and most important exhibition and within its 30 years´ history offered many opportunities for business in this region. It brings together armed forces, defence industry manufacturers and scientific institutions. It focuses on defence and security solutions, anti-terrorism and cyber security.

Video: https://youtu.be/WBemGZZuy5g

The EASA DPO certificate confirms the organisation’s capability to design and manufacture ATM/ANS equipment in compliance with the latest European regulatory and safety requirements. The scope of approval includes both design and production activities for systems supporting ATS, ATFM, ASM, MET and selected ATC applications, including Surveillance Data Processing and A-SMGCS systems.

The certification process, initiated by the company last year, represented a major transformational milestone across the entire organisation. Beyond obtaining the approval itself, the process introduced new internal procedures and strengthened quality management, traceability, configuration control, safety assurance and technical documentation processes.

“Obtaining the EASA DPO approval represents a highly significant milestone for R-SYS as well as for the Slovak ATM industry. However, receiving the certificate is not the finish line — it is only the first step. The real challenge will be to maintain and continuously develop this standard in the years ahead. The certification process brought many valuable internal processes and organisational improvements that already strengthen our company today and will further reinforce our position in the ATM technology market,” said Marek Náhlik, CEO of R-SYS.

The approval will also enable the company to participate more effectively in European ATM projects and confirms R-SYS’s readiness to deliver solutions in an environment with the highest safety and regulatory requirements.

The certificate was issued by EASA under reference EASA.DPO.008 on 18 May 2026.

As a long-term contributor to air traffic management and surveillance standardisation activities, ERA was proud to participate in this prestigious gathering of aviation leaders, regulators, manufacturers, and innovators from around the world. Product Manager Vojtěch Pék represented ERA at the symposium held on 22 – 23 April 2026 in Dublin, Ireland, where more than 150 experts discussed how innovation, safety, and harmonisation will shape the next era of aviation.

The two-day programme featured six expert panels and seven flash talks focused on some of the industry’s most important topics: implementation of new cybersecurity requirements, artificial intelligence in aviation, sustainability, digital transformation, and the future of air traffic management. Discussions repeatedly highlighted the importance of internationally harmonised standards that can keep pace with rapidly evolving technologies while maintaining the highest level of operational safety.

For ERA participation in EUROCAE is a natural extension of its long-term commitment to advanced surveillance technologies for civil aviation. ERA’s Air Traffic Management portfolio includes multilateration, ADS-B, wide area surveillance, and multi-sensor tracking solutions that support airports and ANSPs worldwide. Systems such as NEO and MSS-5 are designed in compliance with international aviation standards and contribute to safer, more accurate, and more reliable surveillance operations in even the most demanding environments.

The EUROCAE symposium also provided a valuable opportunity to exchange experience with aviation authorities, industry partners, and standardisation experts from across Europe and beyond. As aviation continues its transformation toward increasingly digital, automated, and interconnected operations, ERA remains to contribute to the standards that make these innovations possible.