Lithuanian Air Force Navigation System to assist landing of military aircraft at Zokniai
“Acquiring of TACAN navigation system is a significant step ahead in updating the Lithuanian Air Force base in Siauliai. Today both Lithuanian and other NATO countries’ aircraft may perform flying operations in Lithuanian’s airspace and land at the Siauliai military airfield twenty-hour hours a day and do it under any weather conditions, “ Commander of the Lithuanian Air Force Colonel Jonas Marcinkus described the system.
Crews of Lithuanian and NATO countries’ military aircraft have already made sure of reliability of the navigation system. A stationary tactical air navigation system TACAN which was put into operation at the Lithuanian Air Force (LAF) Base in Zokniai near Siauliai in north western Lithuania in May earlier this year serves to ensure secure approach and landing of military aircraft from the Alliance countries.
Lithuania has acquired the TACAN system from the German Ministry of Defence as surplus equipment, which was manufactured in 1990. Equipment installation cost amounted to some LT 1 million to Lithuania.
According to LAF specialists, the TACAN navigation system acquired by Lithuania is reliable and meets all the requirements applied to this type of equipment. This is a primary tactical navigation system that is widely used in a variety of NATO military air bases and warships. The newly installed TACAN navigation system will give a pilot continuous information on the Zokniai Air Force Base runway directions within a few degrees and a range with a few hundred meters precision. Thanks to the system, a pilot will be able to determine his position and find “his” airbase under any environmental conditions.
Today this type of military stationary navigation systems is used in a number of NATO member states.
Lithuania was the first of the Baltic States to acquire the TACAN navigation system. Upon Lithuania’s accession to NATO, an air-policing mission was launched over the three Baltic States to provide them with a credible air defence presence and a mobile TACAN equipment of the British Royal Air Force, serviced by British military specialists, was put into operation at the Zokniai Air Force Base.
