Publications

Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) behavior in New England airspace is being monitored and analyzed, making use of an omni-directional 1030/1090 MHz receiver. The receiver system, located in Lexington, Massachusetts, and operated by MIT Lincoln Laboratory, is used to record data for subsequent analysis in non-real-time. This is the second report of MIT Lincoln Laboratory 1030/1090 MHz monitoring, covering the period March through June 2010. There are three main areas of study: 1. 1030 MHz data related to TCAS air-to-air coordination and other communications, 2. 1030 and 1090 MHz data related to TCAS surveillance, and 3. 1090 MHZ Extended Squitter data, i.e., the Mode S implementation of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B). In addition to a summary of results, this report answers specific questions raised during the previous 2009 analysis and attempts to provide insights into the meaning of the data with respect to TCAS operation. This four-month period will be used to baseline 1030/1090 MHz activity in the New England area. Future plans call for the 1030/1090 MHz receiver to be moved so that limited data recording can be performed at various TCAS RA monitoring system (TRAMS) sites throughout the NAS.

Several applications of the Mode S data link are currently being implemented and equipage requirements have been issued in countries around the world. Elementary surveillance (ELS) and enhanced surveillance (EHS) applications have been mandated in Europe with full equipage of all aircraft in the airspace required by 2009. Exemptions to the ELS requirement include aircraft that will be out of service by 31 December 2009, and aircraft undergoing flight-testing, delivery, or transit into or out of maintenance bases. Transport type aircraft (defined as having a maximum take-off weight in excess of 250 knots) are to be equipped to support ELS and EHS. Exemptions to the requirements for EHS include those listed above for ELS and: a- fighter and training aircraft; b- rotary-wing aircraft; c- existing/older transport type aircraft undergoing avionics upgrades which will then support ELS/EHS; and d- aircraft types granted special exemptions (e.g., B1-B, B2-A, and B-52H bombers). [not complete]

The Federal Aviation Administration is modernizing the Air Traffic Control system to improve flight efficiency, to increase capacity, to reduce flight delays, and to control operating costs as the demand for air travel continues to grow. Promising new surveillance technologies such as Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast, (ADS-B), multisensor track fusion, and multifunction phased array radar offer the potential for increased efficiency in the National Airspace System (NAS). However, the introduction of these surveillance systems into the NAS is hampered because the FAA Order containing the surveillance requirements to support separation services assumes surveillance is provided by radar technology. The requirements are stated in terms that don't apply to new surveillance technologies. In order to take advantage of new surveillance technologies, the surveillance requirements to support separation services in the NAS must be articulated from a performance perspective that is not technology specific. This will allow the FAA to make the investment and performance trade-off analysis necessary to support the introduction of new surveillance technologies. [not complete]