Strategic Infrastructure

Air Navigation & Traffic Management

Air navigation and traffic management covers the services and facilities that control aircraft in flight, including area and approach control centres, oceanic control, en-route radar and surveillance networks, navigation aids and aeronautical communication systems. One of the capabilities of Transport Infrastructure.

International families: 7,3692015 to 2024
Leading country: United States2.9× the next
All families: 18khome filings included
Over five years: Falling2020 to 2024 against the five before

Year by year

Patent families by country of origin and the year of the earliest filing, 2000 to 2025; 2025 is a part year, still filling in. International families are those for which protection was sought beyond one country.

Volume

International patent families in the capability, by the year of the earliest filing.

Source: Global Institute for National Capability (GINC), 2026. Underlying patents from 107 patent offices, IFI CLAIMS and Google

Share by country

Each country's share of the year's international families, in per cent: the capability's five largest countries of origin, 2015 to 2024, and the rest of the world.

Source: Global Institute for National Capability (GINC), 2026. Underlying patents from 107 patent offices, IFI CLAIMS and Google

Country leaderboard

International patent families, 2015 to 2024, by country of origin. Growth compares the latest five full years with the five before.

Ten largest

United States

Japan

China

France

Germany

South Korea

United Kingdom

Sweden

Israel

Canada

2,940

1,014

815

738

380

298

207

166

100


1	United States	2,940	39.9%	0.8×	5,141
2	Japan	1,014	13.8%	1.0×	1,787
3	China	815	11.1%	0.6×	6,367
4	France	738	10.0%	0.7×	862
5	Germany	380	5.2%	1.0×	530
6	South Korea	298	4.0%	1.4×	1,375
7	United Kingdom	207	2.8%	0.7×	260
8	Sweden	166	2.3%	0.6×	169
9	Israel	100	1.4%	0.5×	132
10	Canada	90	1.2%	0.6×	123
11	Taiwan	79	1.1%	0.9×	123
12	Finland	66	0.9%	0.7×	76
13	Netherlands	40	0.5%	0.6×	72
14	Switzerland	38	0.5%	1.1×	49
15	Australia	37	0.5%	0.8×	42
16	Austria	34	0.5%	0.5×	39
17	India	32	0.4%	0.7×	59
18	Italy	31	0.4%	1.4×	45
19	Singapore	31	0.4%	3.4×	35
20	Türkiye	30	0.4%	2.3×	38
21	Spain	26	0.4%	0.7×	31
22	Russia	19	0.3%	0.5×	229
23	Ireland	19	0.3%	1.1×	27
24	Denmark	16	0.2%	0.5×	18
25	Belgium	16	0.2%	1.7×	20
26	Norway	10	0.1%	0.7×	11
27	Brazil	9	0.1%	0.3×	17
28	Czechia	8	0.1%	3.0×	13
29	Luxembourg	7	0.1%	1.3×	7
30	Poland	5	0.1%	0.7×	26
31	Hong Kong	5	0.1%	0.3×	12
32	New Zealand	5	0.1%	0.3×	5
33	Saudi Arabia	5	0.1%	0.7×	15
34	Cayman Islands	4	0.1%	0.0×	4
35	Portugal	4	0.1%	3.0×	4
36	Hungary	4	0.1%	0.0×	4
37	South Africa	1	0.0%	0.0×	1
38	Mexico	1	0.0%	0.0×	4
39	Malaysia	1	0.0%	0.0×	2

Applicants

The largest applicants by international patent families, 2015 to 2024: across the world, then within each of the five countries with the most families in Air Navigation & Traffic Management. Names are as held in the source and are not consolidated across subsidiaries.

Global

7,369 international families

HONEYWELL INT INC · United States

BOEING CO · United States

THALES SA · France

SZ DJI TECHNOLOGY CO LTD · China

QUALCOMM INC · United States

ROCKWELL COLLINS INC · United States

731

340

304

214

170

154

United States

2,940 international families

HONEYWELL INT INC

BOEING CO

QUALCOMM INC

ROCKWELL COLLINS INC

GE AVIATION SYSTEMS LLC

THE BOEING CO

726

338

161

151

Japan

1,014 international families

SONY GROUP CORP

NEC CORP

SONY CORP

NTT DOCOMO INC

TOYOTA MOTOR CORP

TOYOTA MOTOR CO LTD

104

103

China

815 international families

SZ DJI TECHNOLOGY CO LTD

HUAWEI TECH CO LTD

BEIJING XIAOMI MOBILE SOFTWARE CO LTD

AUTEL ROBOTICS CO LTD

UNIV BEIHANG

SHENZHEN AUTEL INTELLIGENT AVIATION TECH CO LTD

212

France

738 international families

THALES SA

AIRBUS OPERATIONS SAS

AIRBUS SAS

DASSAULT AVIAT

AIRBUS HELICOPTERS

SAFRAN ELECTRONICS & DEFENSE

304

142

Germany

France

Germany

Japan

China

Critical Technology

Resilient Positioning & Navigation

2.1% shared · 305 families in both

United States

Japan

China

Germany

France

1,948

1,411

1,349

836

427

Crosswalk

How Air Navigation & Traffic Management is matched to the patent classifications. The entries below were chosen for it; each stands for itself and everything beneath it in the scheme, 83 Cooperative entries in all. A patent family counts when any of its codes, in either scheme and at any office, falls under one of them. Codes since retired are placed under the entries that replaced them.

Entry	Title in the scheme	Why it is chosen	CPC codes	IPC codes	Documents
G08G5/00	Traffic control systems for aircraft	Air traffic control and flight management systems	63	35	243,005
G01S13/91	Radar or analogous systems specially adapted for specific applications for traffic control	Radar for traffic control	3	1	7,396
G01S13/78	Systems using reradiation of radio waves, e.g. secondary radar systems; Analogous systems wherein pulse-type signals are transmitted discriminating between different kinds of targets, e.g. IFF-radar, i.e. identification of friend or foe	Secondary surveillance radar identifying aircraft	7	1	6,128
G01S1/08	Systems for determining direction or position line	Radio beacon systems giving direction or guidance lines	34	30	11,869
G01S19/15	Aircraft landing systems	Satellite-based aircraft landing systems	1	1	1,629
H04B7/18506	Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service	Aeronautical radio communication with aircraft	2	none	18,660
G01S13/917	Radar or analogous systems specially adapted for specific applications for traffic control for marine craft or other waterborne vessels	Left out
G01S13/92	Radar or analogous systems specially adapted for specific applications for traffic control for velocity measurement	Left out

CPC and IPC codes are the codes in use on patent documents, at any office, that fall under the entry. Documents is the larger of the two schemes' counts of documents carrying one of them. An entry with no IPC codes can be told apart only in the Cooperative scheme.

The Cooperative codes in use that count towards Air Navigation & Traffic Management: 110 codes on 288,217 documents. The full crosswalk is in the cpc-to-capability.csv download.

Code	Title	Under entry	How placed	Documents
G08G5/55	Navigation or guidance aids for a single aircraft	G08G5/00	In the scheme	29,550
G08G5/26	Transmission of traffic-related information between aircraft and ground stations	G08G5/00	In the scheme	17,820
G08G5/21	Arrangements for acquiring, generating, sharing or displaying traffic information located onboard the aircraft	G08G5/00	In the scheme	17,435
G08G5/57	Navigation or guidance aids for unmanned aircraft	G08G5/00	In the scheme	17,387
H04B7/18506	Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service	H04B7/18506	In the scheme	13,932
G08G5/22	Arrangements for acquiring, generating, sharing or displaying traffic information located on the ground	G08G5/00	In the scheme	11,765
G08G5/53	Navigation or guidance aids for cruising	G08G5/00	In the scheme	11,702
G08G5/80	Anti-collision systems	G08G5/00	In the scheme	10,517
G08G5/54	Navigation or guidance aids for approach or landing	G08G5/00	In the scheme	9,088
G08G5/34	Flight plan management for flight plan modification	G08G5/00	In the scheme	8,863
G08G5/56	Navigation or guidance aids for two or more aircraft	G08G5/00	In the scheme	7,645
G08G5/727	Arrangements for monitoring traffic-related situations or conditions for monitoring traffic from a ground station	G08G5/00	In the scheme	7,331
G08G5/32	Flight plan management for flight plan preparation	G08G5/00	In the scheme	7,244
G08G5/59	Navigation or guidance aids in accordance with predefined flight zones, e.g. to avoid prohibited zones	G08G5/00	In the scheme	6,139
G08G5/76	Arrangements for monitoring traffic-related situations or conditions for monitoring atmospheric conditions	G08G5/00	In the scheme	5,974
G08G5/723	Arrangements for monitoring traffic-related situations or conditions for monitoring traffic from the aircraft	G08G5/00	In the scheme	5,258
G08G5/51	Navigation or guidance aids for control when on the ground, e.g. taxiing or rolling	G08G5/00	In the scheme	5,244
G08G5/74	Arrangements for monitoring traffic-related situations or conditions for monitoring terrain	G08G5/00	In the scheme	5,109
G01S13/91	Radar or analogous systems specially adapted for specific applications for traffic control	G01S13/91	In the scheme	4,989
H04B7/18508	Communications with or from aircraft, i.e. aeronautical mobile service with satellite system used as relay, i.e. aeronautical mobile satellite service	H04B7/18506	In the scheme	4,728
G08G5/265	Transmission of traffic-related information between aircraft and ground stations for managing air traffic control [ATC] clearance	G08G5/00	In the scheme	4,630
G08G5/25	Transmission of traffic-related information between aircraft	G08G5/00	In the scheme	4,590
G08G5/30	Flight plan management	G08G5/00	In the scheme	3,817
G08G5/00	Traffic control systems for aircraft	G08G5/00	In the scheme	3,709
G08G5/0069	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	3,694
G08G5/58	Navigation or guidance aids for emergency situations, e.g. hijacking or bird strikes	G08G5/00	In the scheme	2,897
G08G5/0013	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	2,872
G01S1/08	Systems for determining direction or position line	G01S1/08	In the scheme	2,337
G08G5/0021	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	2,311
G08G5/50	Navigation or guidance aids	G08G5/00	In the scheme	2,252
G01S13/78	Systems using reradiation of radio waves, e.g. secondary radar systems; Analogous systems wherein pulse-type signals are transmitted discriminating between different kinds of targets, e.g. IFF-radar, i.e. identification of friend or foe	G01S13/78	In the scheme	2,245
G08G5/52	Navigation or guidance aids for take-off	G08G5/00	In the scheme	2,058
G08G5/0039	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	2,053
G01S13/913	Radar or analogous systems specially adapted for specific applications for traffic control for landing purposes	G01S13/91	In the scheme	1,847
G08G5/0034	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	1,631
G01S1/20	Systems for determining direction or position line using a comparison of transit time of synchronised signals transmitted from non-directional antennas or antenna systems spaced apart, i.e. path-difference systems	G01S1/08	In the scheme	1,609
G01S19/15	Aircraft landing systems	G01S19/15	In the scheme	1,539
G08G5/045	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	1,458
G08G5/003	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	1,414
G08G5/0026	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	1,316
G08G5/70	Arrangements for monitoring traffic-related situations or conditions	G08G5/00	In the scheme	1,301
G08G5/20	Arrangements for acquiring, generating, sharing or displaying traffic information	G08G5/00	In the scheme	1,292
G08G5/006	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	1,252
G08G5/23	Details of user output interfaces, e.g. information presented	G08G5/00	In the scheme	1,212
G01S13/781	Secondary Surveillance Radar [SSR] in general	G01S13/78	In the scheme	1,208
G08G5/025	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	1,152
G01S1/24	Systems for determining direction or position line using a comparison of transit time of synchronised signals transmitted from non-directional antennas or antenna systems spaced apart, i.e. path-difference systems the synchronised signals being pulses or equivalent modulations on carrier waves and the transit times being compared by measuring the difference in arrival time of a significant part of the modulations, e.g. LORAN systems	G01S1/08	In the scheme	1,128
G08G5/0043	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	1,072
G08G5/0091	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	1,003
G08G5/0082	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	809
G01S13/784	Coders or decoders therefor; Degarbling systems; Defruiting systems	G01S13/78	In the scheme	790
G08G5/0008	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	774
G01S1/14	Systems for determining direction or position line using amplitude comparison of signals transmitted simultaneously from antennas or antenna systems having differently oriented overlapping directivity-characteristics	G01S1/08	In the scheme	704
G01S1/40	Systems for determining direction or position line using comparison of [1] the phase of the envelope of the change of frequency, due to Doppler effect, of the signal transmitted by an antenna moving, or appearing to move, in a cyclic path with [2] the phase of a reference signal, the frequency of this reference signal being synchronised with that of the cyclic movement, or apparent cyclic movement, of the antenna the apparent movement of the antenna being produced by cyclic sequential energisation of fixed antennas	G01S1/08	In the scheme	702
G08G5/0047	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	702
G08G5/0086	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	688
G08G5/0078	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	665
G08G5/04	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	651
G01S13/782	Secondary Surveillance Radar [SSR] in general using multimoding or selective addressing	G01S13/78	In the scheme	647
G01S13/785	Distance Measuring Equipment [DME] systems	G01S13/78	In the scheme	642
G01S1/30	Systems for determining direction or position line using a comparison of transit time of synchronised signals transmitted from non-directional antennas or antenna systems spaced apart, i.e. path-difference systems the synchronised signals being continuous waves or intermittent trains of continuous waves, the intermittency not being for the purpose of determining direction or position line and the transit times being compared by measuring the phase difference	G01S1/08	In the scheme	598
G01S1/245	Details of receivers cooperating therewith, e.g. determining positive zero crossing of third cycle in LORAN-C	G01S1/08	In the scheme	577
G08G5/38	Flight plan management for identification of landing sites, e.g. of diversion airports	G08G5/00	In the scheme	564
G01S2013/916	Airport surface monitoring [ASDE]	G01S13/91	In the scheme	560
G08G5/065	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	531
G08G5/0052	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	530
G08G5/0004	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	400
G08G5/0056	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	392
G08G5/90	Traffic control systems for aircraft specially adapted for urban air mobility [UAM]	G08G5/00	In the scheme	380
G01S1/56	Timing the pulse-type envelope signals derived by reception of the beam	G01S1/08	In the scheme	377
G08G5/02	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	347
G08G5/24	Details of user input interfaces, e.g. use of speech recognition or specific text formats	G08G5/00	In the scheme	320
G01S13/787	Distance Measuring Equipment [DME] systems co-operating with direction defining beacons	G01S13/78	In the scheme	319
G08G5/0017	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	318
G08G5/78	Arrangements for monitoring traffic-related situations or conditions for monitoring wake turbulence	G08G5/00	In the scheme	299
G01S1/16	Azimuthal guidance systems, e.g. system for defining aircraft approach path, localiser system	G01S1/08	In the scheme	292
G01S1/54	Narrow-beam systems producing at a receiver a pulse-type envelope signal of the carrier wave of the beam, the timing of which is dependent upon the angle between the direction of the receiver from the beacon and a reference direction from the beacon; Overlapping broad beam systems defining a narrow zone and producing at a receiver a pulse-type envelope signal of the carrier wave of the beam, the timing of which is dependent upon the angle between the direction of the receiver from the beacon and a reference direction from the beacon	G01S1/08	In the scheme	291
G08G5/27	Arrangements for acquiring, generating, sharing or displaying traffic information for managing network coverage, e.g. ensuring transmission connections for UAVs	G08G5/00	In the scheme	279
G01S13/788	Coders or decoders therefor; Special detection circuits	G01S13/78	In the scheme	277
G01S1/44	Rotating or oscillating beam beacons defining directions in the plane of rotation or oscillation	G01S1/08	In the scheme	275
G01S1/50	Broad-beam systems producing at a receiver a substantially continuous sinusoidal envelope signal of the carrier wave of the beam, the phase angle of which is dependent upon the angle between the direction of the receiver from the beacon and a reference direction from the beacon, e.g. cardioid system wherein the phase angle of the direction-dependent envelope signal is compared with a non-direction-dependent reference signal, e.g. VOR	G01S1/08	In the scheme	273
G01S1/308	Systems for determining direction or position line using a comparison of transit time of synchronised signals transmitted from non-directional antennas or antenna systems spaced apart, i.e. path-difference systems the synchronised signals being continuous waves or intermittent trains of continuous waves, the intermittency not being for the purpose of determining direction or position line and the transit times being compared by measuring the phase difference particularly adapted to Omega systems	G01S1/08	In the scheme	255
G08G5/0065	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	253
G01S1/306	Analogous systems in which frequency-related signals (harmonics) are compared in phase, e.g. DECCA systems	G01S1/08	In the scheme	243
G01S1/38	Systems for determining direction or position line using comparison of [1] the phase of the envelope of the change of frequency, due to Doppler effect, of the signal transmitted by an antenna moving, or appearing to move, in a cyclic path with [2] the phase of a reference signal, the frequency of this reference signal being synchronised with that of the cyclic movement, or apparent cyclic movement, of the antenna	G01S1/08	In the scheme	234
G08G5/0095	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	232
G08G5/72	Arrangements for monitoring traffic-related situations or conditions for monitoring traffic	G08G5/00	In the scheme	218
G08G5/0073	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	214
G08G5/36	Flight plan management for identification of authorised pilots	G08G5/00	In the scheme	211
G01S1/18	Elevational guidance systems, e.g. system for defining aircraft glide path	G01S1/08	In the scheme	209
G01S1/304	Analogous systems in which a beat frequency, obtained by heterodyning the signals, is compared in phase with a reference signal obtained by heterodyning the signals in a fixed reference point and transmitted therefrom, e.g. LORAC (long range accuracy) or TORAN systems	G01S1/08	In the scheme	198
G01S1/10	Systems for determining direction or position line using amplitude comparison of signals transmitted sequentially from antennas or antenna systems having differently-oriented overlapping directivity characteristics, e.g. equi-signal A-N type	G01S1/08	In the scheme	188
G08G5/06	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	170
G01S1/48	Broad-beam systems producing at a receiver a substantially continuous sinusoidal envelope signal of the carrier wave of the beam, the phase angle of which is dependent upon the angle between the direction of the receiver from the beacon and a reference direction from the beacon, e.g. cardioid system wherein the phase angle of the direction-dependent envelope signal is a multiple of the direction angle, e.g. for "fine" bearing indication TACAN	G01S1/08	In the scheme	147
G01S1/302	Systems in which the direction is determined by using an interferometric type transmitting antenna array	G01S1/08	In the scheme	124
G01S1/46	Broad-beam systems producing at a receiver a substantially continuous sinusoidal envelope signal of the carrier wave of the beam, the phase angle of which is dependent upon the angle between the direction of the receiver from the beacon and a reference direction from the beacon, e.g. cardioid system	G01S1/08	In the scheme	112
G01S1/42	Conical-scan beacons transmitting signals which indicate at a mobile receiver any displacement of the receiver from the conical-scan axis, e.g. for "beam-riding" missile control	G01S1/08	In the scheme	110
G01S1/22	Systems for determining direction or position line using a comparison of transit time of synchronised signals transmitted from non-directional antennas or antenna systems spaced apart, i.e. path-difference systems the synchronised signals being frequency modulations on carrier waves and the transit times being compared by measuring difference of instantaneous frequencies of received carrier waves	G01S1/08	In the scheme	100
G01S1/12	Systems for determining direction or position line using amplitude comparison of signals transmitted sequentially from antennas or antenna systems having differently-oriented overlapping directivity characteristics, e.g. equi-signal A-N type the signals being transmitted sequentially from an antenna or antenna system having the orientation of its directivity characteristic periodically varied, e.g. by means of sequentially effective reflectors	G01S1/08	In the scheme	89
G01S1/66	Superimposing direction-indicating intelligence signals, e.g. speech, Morse	G01S1/08	In the scheme	79
G01S1/465	Broad-beam systems producing at a receiver a substantially continuous sinusoidal envelope signal of the carrier wave of the beam, the phase angle of which is dependent upon the angle between the direction of the receiver from the beacon and a reference direction from the beacon, e.g. cardioid system using time-varying interference fields	G01S1/08	In the scheme	50
G01S1/64	Varying pulse timing, e.g. varying interval between pulses radiated in pairs	G01S1/08	In the scheme	47
G01S1/60	Varying frequency of beam signal or of auxiliary signal	G01S1/08	In the scheme	44
G01S1/32	Systems in which the signals received, with or without amplification, or signals derived therefrom, are compared in phase directly contains no documents	G01S1/08	In the scheme	28
G01S1/58	Narrow-beam systems producing at a receiver a pulse-type envelope signal of the carrier wave of the beam, the timing of which is dependent upon the angle between the direction of the receiver from the beacon and a reference direction from the beacon; Overlapping broad beam systems defining a narrow zone and producing at a receiver a pulse-type envelope signal of the carrier wave of the beam, the timing of which is dependent upon the angle between the direction of the receiver from the beacon and a reference direction from the beacon wherein a characteristic of the beam transmitted or of an auxiliary signal is varied in time synchronously with rotation or oscillation of the beam	G01S1/08	In the scheme	28
G01S1/26	Systems in which pulses or time-base signals are generated locally at the receiver and brought into predetermined time-relationship with received signals, e.g. pulse duration coincides with time interval between arrival of significant part of modulation of signals received from first and second antennas or antenna systems	G01S1/08	In the scheme	14
G01S1/36	Systems in which a beat frequency, obtained by heterodyning the synchronised signals, is compared in phase with a reference signal having a phase substantially independent of direction contains no documents	G01S1/08	In the scheme	12
G01S1/62	Varying phase-relationship between beam and auxiliary signal	G01S1/08	In the scheme	11
G01S1/28	Systems in which pulses or time-base signals are generated locally at the receiver and brought into predetermined time-relationship with received signals, e.g. pulse duration coincides with time interval between arrival of significant part of modulation of signals received from first and second antennas or antenna systems wherein the predetermined time-relationship is maintained automatically contains no documents	G01S1/08	In the scheme	4
G08G5/008	Retired code	G08G5/00	Retired, by main group	1

Match: Direct

The capability is itself a technology or a kind of physical system, and the classification names it. G08G5/00 includes on-board collision avoidance and drone traffic; aeronautical communication is separable only in CPC. The crosswalk is a first pass that nobody has reviewed.

Air Navigation & Traffic Management

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Country leaderboard

Ten largest

Applicants

Global

United States

Japan

China

France

Germany

Similar capabilities

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