'HERE I AM! AND THERE YOU ARE!' INSTALLING ADS-B IN A NAVY TEST AIRCRAFT AS A LIMITED TECHNICAL EXPERIMENT

摘要

Automatic Dependent Surveillance -^sBroadcast (ADS-B) is an aircraft-based surveillance service that broadcasts its own position and other data, and displays data broadcast from other ADS-B equipped aircraft and ground units. As a result of highly successful limited civilian trials, a pending FAA mandate directs a nationwide transition to ADS-B technology by around 2014. A Navy Sea Trial Information Management System ("Sea Trial") Limited Technology Experiment (LTE) mandate was directed by the Naval Network Warfare Command to determine the potential fleet utility of ADS-B technology; this Sea Trial LTE was not intended to evaluate the specific implementation in hardware or software. The test was intended to qualitatively identify the potential military utility of such a system by operating several participating aircraft in a controlled environment with a typical high-traffic, high-workload situation, simulating a Search and Rescue (SAR) mission. A single three-hour flight with four participating aircraft, including a VX-20 T-34C and a VX-20 P-3C aircraft, was conducted on 17 April 2006; surveys were collected from aircrew who utilized the ADS-B equipped VX-20 aircraft during testing and subsequent non-test flights. Results indicate a significant reduction in pilot workload in all traffic-related and situational awareness tasks, an almost doubled visual detection rate of nearby traffic, and a greatly increased visual detection distance. Several significant benefits to Navy pilots and specifically to the flight test community were identified and are applicable to aviation interests in general.