A proposed US Federal Aviation Administration rulemaking for the airborne portion of automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) services could cost the aviation industry as much as $7.5 billion by 2020.
The equipment, called ADS-B out, will use satellite-based positioning services and airborne links to transmit an aircraft's position, velocity and other information to the ground, allowing the FAA to eliminate a large number of secondary surveillance radar systems that today are used to provide similar, but less accurate information. ADS-B is the FAA's choice for a next-generation (Next Gen) performance-based surveillance system in the 2020 timeframe.
Under the proposed rule, by 1 January 2020, aircraft flying about 24,000ft (FL240 or 7,320m) will have to be equipped with a 1090MHz extended squitter (1090ES) system. Aircraft in controlled airspace flying below FL240 will have to use either a 1090ES or a Universal Access Transciever (UAT), a 978MHz device thought to be the most suitable for general aviation aircraft.
Both systems will be required to transmit 15 data elements, several requiring flight crew entry. Included are length and width of the aircraft, its position, velocity, barometric altitude, call sign or tail number, emitter category (a measure of the severity of the wake vortex the aircraft produces) and a wealth of other information related to the status of onboard avionics, including an indication of an onboard emergency.
Along with reducing separation standards by an amount not yet defined, the FAA says the improved accuracy will allow aircraft to fly optimal flight paths and altitudes and burn less fuel. The equipment will also enable controllers to issue fewer instructions, giving them time to accommodate more aircraft within the allotted airspace, increasing capacity, the agency says.
The FAA projects that growth in general aviation, unmanned aircraft and a doubling of airline passenger traffic by 2025 will overwhelm today's radar-based surveillance system. Radar, which will be kept as a back-up system, is limited by its scan rate and physical limitations - accuracy decreases as the distance from the radar site increases. The agency says the potential benefits from the rule include about $10 billion in savings, primarily from "fuel, operating costs and time savings from more efficient flights" through 2035.
Air Transport Association of America president and chief executive James May said in a statement that "Congress and the FAA should make this programme a priority by creating financial incentives for accelerated deployment".
Source: Flight International
