Evaluation of positioning performance losses in European airspace due to the shutdown of the Ukrainian air navigation network

@article{OSTROUMOV2027103098, title = {Evaluation of positioning performance losses in European airspace due to the shutdown of the Ukrainian air navigation network}, journal = {Journal of Air Transport Management}, volume = {138}, pages = {103098}, year = {2027}, issn = {0969-6997}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2026.103098}, url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969699726001341}, author = {Ivan Ostroumov and Viktoriia Ivannikova and Maksym Zaliskyi and Nataliia Kuzmenko}, keywords = {Air navigation, Civil aviation, Smart infrastructure, Intelligent transportation system, Collaborative decision-making, Radio navigation aids, War in Ukraine}, abstract = {War in Ukraine creates a significant impact on global air transportation system due to the wide area of involved airspaces. On February 24, 2022, Ukrainian air navigation service provider closed national airspace and suspended all navigation services. The ground network of radio navigation aids has been locked. Ukrainian network of radio navigation aids includes 16 Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) and 7 collocated VHF Omnidirectional Range (VOR) stations, which is also a part of the European radio navigation aids network. Service areas of Ukrainian radio navigation aids were provided in airspaces of neighboring countries that allow this equipment to participate in the pair formation process of the on-board positioning system. In the paper, we estimate the configuration of the European navigation aids network and study the impact of closed network on the performance of positioning by pairs of DME/DME and VOR/VOR in airspaces of neighboring countries: Poland, Slovak Republic, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova. Key performance parameters including availability, number of available pairs, positioning accuracy, and system reliability (mean time between failures and probability of failure-free operation) are used in area analysis to identify the impact of closing Ukrainian sub-network of navigational aids. Proposed methodological framework provides a systematic approach for assessing navigation network performance and highlights the implications of network disruptions for aviation safety in European airspace.} }