EASA issues first approval for ATM/ANS Design or Production Organisation

 The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued the first Design or Production Organisation (DPO) approval of equipment for Air Traffic Management/Air Navigation (ATM/ANS) services, marking a major milestone in the journey towards a safer, more secure, interoperable, and efficient operation of the European ATM network in all phases of flight.

The approval was awarded to Micro Elektronische Producten B.V. (MEP) that designs and produces air-ground voice communication systems for Air Traffic Control services and is the first organisation approved under EASA. The single EASA approval is valid across the entire EU market, paving the way for harmonised ATM/ANS equipment across the continent.

“This approval is a first step on the way to a more modern and harmonised ATM network in Europe,” said EASA Flight Standards Director, Jesper Rasmussen. “Europe is strong in producing ATM equipment and this new approval system makes it easier for the service providers to adopt solutions already proven as safe in real operations. Innovation also becomes easier, as the approval of an organisation comes with the privilege to improve existing solutions without needing a new full certification. We congratulate MEP on the achievement of receiving this first approval and expect many manufacturers to follow in their footsteps.”

Werner van Eck, Chief Executive Officer of MEP, complemented: “I am very happy that MEP is the first company to be granted the DPO approval. This is the result and recognition of all the hard work of our MEP project team, receiving great support from the EASA team over the last 12 months. MEP is committed to safety in Air Traffic Control in general and voice communication systems in particular. I am convinced that this approval will further improve cooperation with our customers.”

To achieve the approval, MEP successfully demonstrated compliance with the applicable requirements of Regulations (EU) 2023/1769 and 2023/1768. Compliance was verified by the EASA team during the initial approval investigation conducted over the last 12 months.

The approval as DPO entitles organisations to specific design or production privileges. They can apply for certification of certain ATM/ANS equipment, classify changes as “major” or “minor”, and make these changes to certain ATM/ANS equipment. They can also issue declarations of design compliance, and issue EASA release forms that allow equipment designed and produced by the DPO to be delivered to an Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP) for installation. This also means less work for the ANSP; they can rely more directly upon the work done by the approved DPO when making changes to ANSP systems.

EASA’s extended remit resulted from the publication of the new regulatory framework on the conformity assessment of ATM/ANS equipment. The framework introduced several new concepts such as:

• EASA as a common source of technical specifications for the certification or declaration of ATM/ANS equipment;
• a single source of equipment attestations that are valid for the entire EU market; and
• a single compliance demonstration for manufacturers (DPO approval).

These concepts were designed to enable cost-efficiency, minimise implementation issues, and decrease efforts on the part of ANSPs, national certification authorities, and manufacturers, without compromising flexibility, innovation or safety.

Press release EASA