Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) has placed additional orders for Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRAD), a technology that prevents bird strike incidents.
This was announced by Genasys, a California-based company that provides protective communications systems and solutions, on July 11, 2024.
According to Genasys, Changi Airport has used its LRAD technology since 2021 to prevent birds from hitting planes and passenger jets during takeoffs and landings when aircraft are most vulnerable to bird strikes.
The company said that aircraft bird strikes cause $1.2 billion in estimated damage annually. The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) recently issued a safety alert due to a surge in bird strikes at Malaysia’s airports. CAAM’s chief executive officer urged Malaysian airport operators to explore the use of modern technologies, including radar systems and acoustic devices, to detect and deter birds.
“In addition to LRAD deployments at Changi and other APAC airports, we are working several pipeline opportunities to protect jets, passengers and wildlife in the APAC and European regions,” David Schnell, VP Global Hardware Sales at Genasys, said in a statement.
“Manually operated or integrated with remote command and control centers, LRAD is a humane bioacoustic deterrent that has proven highly effective in preventing aircraft bird strikes near runways,” Schnell added.
Schnell also said that when integrated with millimeter band avian radar, LRAD systems automatically detect and deter birds entering runway control zones by broadcasting a wide variety of intense, directional sounds and predator calls to safely steer birds away from aircraft during takeoffs and landings.