ADS-L arrives on Oudie N, Omni, and Nimo

Oudie N Fanet+, Omni and Nimo now broadcast ADS-L, Europe’s new open language for electronic conspicuity. They already talk FLARM to gliders and FANET to paragliders and hang gliders. Now they add a third language, one that any manufacturer can build into any aircraft or drone.

This is a quiet update with big intentions. Today it does one thing: it broadcasts your position in ADS-L so that more devices can see you. That is ADS-L Out. Receiving and displaying ADS-L traffic (ADS-L In) is the next step for the whole industry, and so are the ground services that could one day use it. We want to be honest about where things stand.

What is ADS-L?

ADS-L means Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Light. It is an open standard published by EASA, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. Your device takes its GNSS position and broadcasts it, together with identity, speed and track, in a short radio message. Anyone with a compatible receiver can read it.

The “Light” is about cost and power, not about importance. ADS-L carries the same kind of data as ADS-B Out in airliners, but it runs on small, low-power, uncertified radios. That makes it practical for gliders, paragliders, hang gliders, ultralights and drones.

A few facts worth knowing:

Frequencies: the same licence-free SRD-860 band that FLARM and FANET use – 868.2 and 868.4 MHz, plus 869.525 MHz.
Range: EASA quotes air-to-air ranges above 10 km, depending heavily on antenna and installation.
History: the first issue of the specification appeared in late 2022. Issue 2 followed in December 2025 and added ground-to-air retransmission and a path towards drone Remote ID.
Legal status: ADS-L is one of the accepted ways to be electronically conspicuous when entering U-space airspace (SERA.6005(c)). Outside U-space, there is no mandate.

The key idea is simple. FLARM and FANET each work well inside their own community. ADS-L is meant to be the common language between communities, and between aircraft and the ground.

Three languages, one radio

ADS-L does not replace FLARM or FANET in your device. It runs alongside them on the same radio band, and each protocol keeps doing the job it does best.

Protocol	Who mainly uses it	What it is best at	Openness
FLARM	Gliders, tow planes, many GA aircraft and helicopters	Collision warnings tuned for thermalling and close formation flying	Proprietary, licensed
FANET	Paragliders and hang gliders	Pilot-to-pilot tracking, messages, ground stations and weather stations	Open, community-driven
ADS-L	Any aircraft or drone, any manufacturer	A common language that every device and future ground service can understand	Open, EASA standard

With this update, Oudie N Fanet+, Omni and Nimo transmit ADS-L Out alongside FLARM and FANET. They keep receiving and displaying FLARM and FANET traffic exactly as before. ADS-L traffic is not shown yet: ADS-L In does not work in practice on any device on the market today, including devices that list it as a feature.

Why add a third? Because the sky is getting more mixed. Paraglider pilots with FANET and glider pilots with FLARM have never been fully visible to each other, and drones and microlights are often visible to neither. ADS-L is meant to give all of them one shared channel. By broadcasting on it now, you are already part of that channel when receivers catch up.

What changes in your cockpit today

In the air, this update is about being seen, not about seeing more. Your device now announces your position in ADS-L, in addition to FLARM and FANET.

You are visible to more devices. Any receiver that decodes ADS-L can pick up your position.
No extra hardware. It is the same Fanet+ radio you already have. ADS-L Out comes with a free software update. [Confirm version number and whether any licence is needed.]
Nothing else changes. FLARM and FANET work exactly as before.

To get it, connect your device to Wi-Fi or mobile data and install the latest update or do it manually through Settings > Radar > Update firmware.

Why this is only the beginning

Today ADS-L is a one-way broadcast. Devices transmit it, but no device on the market yet receives and displays it in practice. Only community receivers, such as the Open Glider Network, pick it up. That is the most important thing to understand about this update.

ADS-L was designed for much more than aircraft seeing each other. EASA built it so that ground systems could use it too. Very little of that exists so far:

Air traffic control does not use it. EASA states that ADS-L is not yet recognised by air traffic management services in its member states. You cannot use it instead of a transponder in a Transponder Mandatory Zone.
Flight information and search and rescue do not use it. EASA research is looking at exactly these cases – FIS, SAR and access to TMZ and RMZ – with results expected around mid-2026. Nothing has been rolled out yet.
U-space is barely there. ADS-L’s legal role is linked to U-space, Europe’s airspace for drone traffic. By spring 2026 only one U-space airspace in the EU, San Salvo in Italy, was formally designated and operating. Zurich plans one for the end of 2026.
Ground-to-air uplink is new on paper. Issue 2 of the standard allows ground stations to rebroadcast traffic, hazard notices and drone Remote ID to aircraft. The networks to do this at scale are still being built.

So why add it now? Because a standard only becomes useful when enough devices speak it. Every Oudie N Fanet+, Omni and Nimo that broadcasts ADS-L is one more aircraft that future receivers, in the air and on the ground, will see from day one.

What could come next:

ADS-L In. Receiving ADS-L and showing that traffic in SeeYou Navigator, once it works reliably across the industry.
Traffic uplink from the ground. Ground stations could rebroadcast transponder and ADS-B traffic over ADS-L, so your device could warn you about aircraft it cannot hear directly.
Drones on your screen. Issue 2 prepares for drone Remote ID to be relayed to pilots. Low-level drone traffic near ridges and landing fields would become visible.
Flight information services. FIS could one day see ADS-L traffic and give better traffic information to everyone in the area.
Search and rescue. A standard, open position broadcast is easier for rescue services to receive than several proprietary ones.
ADS-L over mobile networks. EASA plans future specifications for ADS-L over 4G and 5G. Oudie N already has LTE inside, it is ready for ADS-L Mobile when it appears.
Weather and hazard messages. The standard has room for payloads beyond position, such as weather and hazard notifications.

We will add these features as the ground side appears. Because Naviter devices receive free software updates, your device can grow with the standard instead of being replaced by it.

What ADS-L does not do (yet)

We would rather you trust this feature for the right reasons.

It does not show you ADS-L traffic yet. This is ADS-L Out only: others can see you, but you do not see them through ADS-L.
It is not a transponder. It does not make you visible to ATC radar or to TCAS in commercial aircraft.
It does not replace FLARM among gliders. Swiss authorities recommend FLARM for glider-to-glider collision awareness.
It only helps where someone is listening. ADS-L receivers are still rare, and most aircraft speak only FLARM or FANET. Coverage grows as more devices adopt the standard.
Range depends on installation. Antenna placement matters as much for ADS-L as it does for FLARM.

Quick answers

Which devices get ADS-L? Oudie N Fanet+, Omni and Nimo. Oudie N without the Fanet+ module has no 868 MHz radio, so it cannot receive or transmit ADS-L.

Does the upgrade cost anything? No. As promised, this is a free firmware update for all devices that are already equipped with the Fanet+ module.

Will my FLARM or FANET work differently? No. ADS-L runs alongside them.

Do I need to tell ATC? No. EASA says ADS-L can be used in any airspace for situational awareness, with no coordination needed.

Is it only for Europe? ADS-L is an EASA standard, and the 868 MHz band is a European allocation.

Update your device, fly, and help build the shared sky.