The DME radio beacons form the perfect complement of the ILS. The DME antenna is located on top of the GP antenna mast. The DME – Distance Measurement Equipment – is a response-based system where both the ground and airborne components operate interchangeably in the transmitter and receiver modes. The measurement is triggered by the airborne component which sends pairs of interrogation impulses towards the ground component. The latter receives and validates the incoming signal (interrogation or interference) and responds.
A single ground component can process 100 simultaneous airborne interrogations. All ground DMEs, regardless the manufacturer and technology, operate in an unified system with 50 microsecond response time from interrogation.
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