Air Transport

US Federal Aviation Administration officials intend to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) requiring operators to equip aircraft for automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) by 2020 to enter selected airspace.

The avionics equipage requirement will “assure access to certain airspace”, FAA associate administrator for aviation safety Nicholas Sabatini said this week during an agency workshop in Washington, DC.

ADS-B augments global positioning system signals relayed from aircraft to ground stations to provide air traffic control, pilots, and airport vehicles with information such as precise aircraft location, bearings and identification.

When displayed in the cockpit, ADS-B “greatly improves situational awareness in the en route segment, in the terminal area during approaches, and even on the airport surface”, says Sabatini.

He also confirmed the FAA this spring will contract a service provider for nationwide deployment of ADS-B.

Lockheed Martin recently teamed with Harris, Honeywell and Sensis to bid for the ADS-B contract. As part of its proposal, Lockheed Martin will be responsible for overall system design, integration, deployment, transition, and operations of the ADS-B network, while Sensis will supply the ground receiver technology.

Harris will manage the interoperable exchange of co-operative surveillance data, while Honeywell will help Lockheed Martin deploy and operate systems in the field.

However, a government/industry “tiger team” has concluded that aircraft separation standards will have to be significantly reduced for the US FAA’s automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) system to be worth the investment.