In the United States, one in eight planes – or 1,000 devices – will have to be overhauled by February 2024 to become insensitive to 5G frequencies.
If most American planes are now properly equipped to filter 5G, one in eight planes will have to go through the garage box. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has therefore asked airlines to upgrade in the coming months.
By February 1, 2024, all aircraft must have been rendered immune to 5G frequencies. According to the FFA report reported by Ars-Technica, 1000 aircraft will be overhauled this year. Two types of problems have been detected: 180 aircraft will have to have an altimeter replaced, the other 820 will just have a few modifications to make to prevent 5G from disturbing certain on-board instruments.
A radio altimeter problem
At the heart of the complications, the radio altimeter. This measuring instrument located in airplanes makes it possible to know the distance of the device from the ground or from sea level. The radio altimeter is therefore essential in sensitive phases of flight, in particular at landingespecially for low visibility flights.
But with 5G, interference can occur due to the proximity of the “5G C-band” frequencies to those of the air sector, differentiated by only a few gigahertz. Aircraft safety would therefore be called into question.
Some radio altimeters may already demonstrate tolerance to emissions from the 5G C-band without modifications. Others will need an installation of filters between the radio altimeter and the antenna to increase the tolerance of the device”, however qualifies the FFA.
The changes made to the various devices will therefore be significant. And will have a cost: 26 million dollars to repair all the planes concerned.
