Australia has made a major investment in installing and implementing an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) network with near nationwide reach to address a lack of radar coverage over much of the continent. We polled Airservices Australia’s Amanda Palmer, media and public affairs advisor, about the new Upper Airspace Program. BCA: What was Australia’s investment in its ADS-B network (i.e., roughly, how much did it cost)?

“We operate a Global Express based at Essendon Airport, Melbourne,” Rick Palmer, aviation manager and chief pilot for Gandel Investments, told BCA.

While the rest of the world struggles amid the global financial crisis, Australia’s economy is resurgent, thanks primarily to a healthy minerals trade with China.