SkyGuard® · FAA-approved aircraft detection lighting system (ADLS) Lights off until an aircraft needs them.
SkyGuard detects approaching aircraft, activates the site's obstruction lights only when needed, and delivers on-site security from the same platform. Purpose-built for wind energy projects.
- FAA-approved ADLS
- 360° 3D radar
- Measures altitude
- Fail-safe
- Day and night
- All weather
- No moving parts
- CoreCommand C2
Lights for aircraft near the turbines. Not for traffic overhead.
The FAA activation volume extends 3 nautical miles beyond the project's outermost turbines, from 200 feet above ground up to 1,000 feet above the tallest structure. A distance-only system turns the lights on for any aircraft inside that horizontal boundary, including traffic flying thousands of feet above it.
SkyGuard's 3D radar measures altitude as well as range and bearing. It switches the lights on as an aircraft enters SkyGuard's early-warning region, just before the FAA volume, and leaves them off for traffic flying above that region. That means more dark hours and fewer needless activations.
Activation volume per FAA Advisory Circular 70/7460-1N, Chapter 10. Diagram not to scale.
Lights on before the aircraft arrives. Off once it's clear.
SkyGuard tracks the aircraft in three dimensions from well outside the wind farm. The obstruction lights switch on the moment it crosses into SkyGuard's early-warning region, stay on while it passes through the FAA activation volume, and switch off once it leaves the early-warning region. The radar keeps tracking it the whole way.
FAA ADLS volume (solid lines)
3 NM beyond the outermost turbines, from 200 ft AGL up to 1,000 ft above the tallest structure. AC 70/7460-1N, Chapter 10.
SkyGuard early-warning region (dashed lines)
A buffer outside the FAA volume, so the lights are already on when an aircraft reaches it. Shown in red while the lights are on.
Obstruction lights
On when an aircraft enters the early-warning region. Off when it leaves. The radar keeps the track before and after.
When anything fails, the lights come on.
An ADLS is an aviation safety system first. SkyGuard is designed so every failure mode leaves the site lit, and every decision is on record.
360° 3D detection
Solid-state 3D radar with no moving parts covers the full activation volume, day and night, in all weather.
Fail-safe lighting
Any component or communication failure turns the obstruction lights on. They stay on until the fault is cleared.
Fast activation
Lights come on within seconds of an aircraft entering the volume.
Hold period
If SkyGuard loses track of an aircraft, the lights stay on for 30 minutes, per FAA Advisory Circular 70/7460-1N.
Health checks and records
The system checks its own health every 24 hours. Every activation is logged and data is kept for at least 15 days.
Flight-test verified
TKG flight-tests every SkyGuard site to verify aviation safety, comparing radar tracks with the test aircraft's GPS log.
The numbers behind the system.
Site-specific coverage, sensor count and tower positions are set during design. Ask for a site design to see SkyGuard modeled on your layout.
Request a site design- Radar
- Solid-state 3D radar; no moving parts
- Coverage
- 360°, designed to cover the full FAA activation volume for the site
- Measures
- Range, bearing and altitude
- Activation volume
- 3 NM beyond the outermost turbines, 200 ft AGL up to 1,000 ft above the tallest structure (AC 70/7460-1N, Chapter 10)
- Aircraft detected
- Fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, ultralights and gliders
- Health monitoring
- Automatic, every 24 hours
- Data retention
- At least 15 days; longer retention available as an option
- Obstruction lights supported
- Flash Technology and Technostrobe
- Software
- CoreCommand® command and control: aircraft evaluation, logging and reporting
- System components
- 3D radar system, CoreCommand® and obstruction light controller. Third-party integrations available.
The approval path, worked with you.
A growing number of states now require ADLS on wind projects. Approval runs alongside the project's FAA filings. TKG designs the coverage from the site, prepares the FAA data and performs the flight verification.
Obstruction filings
Each radar tower is filed with the FAA Obstruction Evaluation group and receives a Determination of No Hazard.
Owner, with TKG support
Coverage design
CoreDesign models radar placement against terrain and the turbine layout to cover the full activation volume.
TKG
Install and commission
Towers, radars, light-controller interface and communications.
Partner installs; TKG commissions
Flight verification
Test flights at set altitudes and profiles. Radar tracks are compared with aircraft GPS.
TKG
Operate
Daily health checks, activation logs and annual reporting. TKG monitoring services available.
Owner, with TKG support
Approval status
- SkyGuard® is an FAA-approved aircraft detection lighting system, built to FAA Advisory Circular 70/7460-1N.
- FAA Determinations of No Hazard issued for ADLS radar towers (2025). Case study CS-01
- FAA test flights completed September 2026, with radar tracks and light-activation timing delivered to the FAA.
Plan ADLS at permitting
Put the radar tower locations in the project's first FAA obstruction filings. The lighting approval then isn't held up by a second review cycle.
Safety and security on one platform.
Obstruction lights that run all night draw complaints and slow permitting. SkyGuard keeps them dark until an aircraft approaches, and the same system can secure the site.
Because SkyGuard runs on CoreCommand, TKG can add dedicated drone and intruder sensors inside the SkyGuard system, all on one operating picture. The ADLS radars stay on aircraft detection.
Questions to ask any ADLS vendor.
Every ADLS turns lights off. These questions separate one system from another. Here is how SkyGuard answers them.
Does it measure altitude, or only distance?
SkyGuard's 3D radar measures altitude, so aircraft passing above the activation volume don't turn the lights on.
What happens when something fails?
Any component or communication failure turns the lights on until the fault is cleared.
What is the FAA approval basis?
FAA-approved, built to Advisory Circular 70/7460-1N.
How is coverage proven for this site?
Coverage is modeled from the site's terrain and turbine layout before hardware is ordered, which sets the radar count and positions. TKG then verifies it by flight test.
Can it be added to an operating wind farm?
Yes. SkyGuard can be added to an operating wind farm as well as planned into a new project.
How much of the night will the lights be off?
It depends on local air traffic. Industry estimates put the reduction in lights-on time at well over 90% at most sites, and SkyGuard's activation logs give site-specific figures after commissioning.
From FAA tower filings to flight verification.
Aircraft detection lighting across a utility wind portfolio
Three wind facilities under one master agreement, FAA Determinations of No Hazard for the radar towers, and FAA test flights in September 2026.
Read the case studyLights only when needed: aircraft detection lighting for wind energy
How ADLS works, why altitude matters, the approval path and what each stakeholder gets.
Read the summaryRequest a SkyGuard site design.
Send the project location and turbine layout. TKG will scope radar placement, coverage and lighting integration.