Leveraging Existing FAA Terminal Automation Systems for NextGen Terminal/Tower Capabilities

摘要

Today's tower/terminal air traffic control (ATC) environment adequately supports the existing services provided by ATC controllers. However automation support for the controllers includes a series of separate, standalone systems that provide specific functions needed in the tower and Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON). Each system includes its own processing, displays and data entry devices to provide their functionality, requiring controllers to move from display to display in order to make observations and data entries when providing ATC terminal and tower services. Also, having so many separate systems, and multiple types of systems, performing similar functions at the hundreds of towers and TRACONs across the U.S. increases the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) operations & maintenance costs required to support the various hardware and software baselines. This existing automation environment is ripe for an integrated tower/terminal processing and display platform that provides the required ATC functionality in a more integrated fashion and as part of a common baseline that is supported across all FAA towers. The underlying integrated tower/terminal platform would need to support mission critical services and also accommodate services that today are categorized as mission essential or mission support.The FAA already has terminal automation systems at all of its TRACONS that provide services to over 350 local and remote towers across the U.S. These systems have existing FAA hardware and software maintenance and deployment support structures. They are also architected and tested to stringent mission critical requirements, and have upgradesupport to ensure they can provide the processing reserves to address new functionality.This paper describes how existing FAA systems and infrastructure can be used to reduce tower/terminal support complexity and provide a more integrated set of ATC automation services. The examples in this paper are based on Common Automated Radar Terminal System (ARTS).