An alleged US attempt to sabotage a European-backed technology for the Future Air Navigation System (FANS) has collapsed in the face of international opposition.
Delegates to an International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) panel considering the matter voted to stick with their original plan for the development of a Swedish-developed VHF datalink which could form the basis of the crucial automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) concept.
ADS-B is a vital element of FANS, and vendors that can provide the required "'enabling technologies" stand to gain substantial sales. A coalition of European airlines, trade associations and researchers rejected a US proposal to move the vital "validation" process of the Swedish STDMA datalink from ICAO's Aero-nautical Mobile Communications Panel (AMCP) to another forum - which would have put back its schedule by two years.
The Europeans accuse the USA of protecting the interests of its domestic industry at the expense of the well-being of the international air transport industry by supporting the alternative Mode S datalink.
Speaking after the AMCP meeting in Montreal where the US bid was voted down, one European airline official involved in STDMA research said: "This was an excellent result. The US proposal was very serious and it was just to protect their industry."
The STDMA technology, known as VHF datalink Mode 4 (VDL-4) in ICAO, will now undergo technological validation over the next year, potentially leading to its approval for use by airlines and civil aviation authorities.
Extensive trials of the system are under way in Europe, notably including Lufthansa and SAS, and the US Cargo Airlines Association is about to begin its own experiments with the technology as a possible "leapfrog" solution for traffic alert and collision avoidance.
Source: Flight International
