What's backup plan if satellites go down on NextGen air traffic management system?

Posted by John Keller

The NextGen air traffic management system represents a revolutionary advancement in air traffic control, as the future system will use satellite navigation and guidance to enable commercial jetliners to fly not only straight lines to their destinations, but also to control their trajectories and flight profiles based on the performance of each aircraft to save time, fuel, and other operating costs.

But what happens if the satellites go down? This isn't out of the realm of possibility. A nuclear weapon detonated in low-Earth orbit could destroy or disable upwards of 80 percent of the navigation satellites on which not only NextGen air traffic management, but also any kind of Global Positioning System (GPS)-based navigation depends.

It worries me that countries we might consider to be rogue nations -- I'm thinking of Iran and North Korea here -- either have or are close to developing nuclear weapons and the means to boost these into Earth orbit and explode them there, taking out most of the communications, navigation, and home entertainment satellites residing there. Let's face it, it's only a matter of time before terrorist organizations get their hands on nukes capable of doing this job.

So assuming that we will in a short time have a primarily satellite-based air traffic control system, what do we do if the worst happens?

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in Washington has considered this possibility and has a backup plan in place, says Ronald Stroup, chief systems engineer at the FAA, who made his comments today at the Avionics USA conference and trade show in San Diego.

Stroup told conference attendees that the FAA has plans to continue maintaining its network of ground-based radar stations -- perhaps not all of them, but enough to do the job. In addition, FAA experts have plans to extend the ranges of ground-based radar systems to continue with air traffic control if satellite-based systems malfunction.

The FAA also plans to maintain its distance measuring equipment (DME) navigation systems so commercial aircraft can continue navigating from place to place using ground-based radio beacons. It might not be as efficient as the NextGen system, but at least we'll still have a functioning air traffic management system.

Finally, Stroup says the FAA plans to maintain radio-based voice communications to relay orders, directives, and crucial flight data to commercial aircraft in the event of a disaster that renders satellite-based systems inoperable.

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NextGen in the mid-term

Posted by John McHale

While planning for our avionics conferences this year, the thing our advisory board kept hammering home to me was that avionics engineers don't want to hear about what's happening ten or 15 years down the road, they want to know what will help their businesses today. Hence, the theme for this year's Avionics USA conference -- NextGen in the mid-term.

The big change coming in commercial aviation is the transition toward NextGen, the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) Next Generation Air Transportation System and in Europe Eurocontrol's Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR). Both are still nearly a decade away from full deployment, but avionics designers are already beginning to implement new standards and technology now, in the mid-term to be ready for the transition.

NextGen will bring air traffic management (ATM) from a ground-based radar system to a satellite-based system. One of our advisory board members told me it will "bring the ATM decision making from the ground to the pilot" through the software and electronics he will have in the cockpit. Enabling this is Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) technology, which should cut down on midair collisions and weather-related accidents. ADS-B systems are already being implemented in aircraft today.

NextGen avionics will be implemented in electronic flight bags, avionics displays, embedded computers, GPS and other navigation devices, and most importantly software applications such as real-time weather monitoring that enable pilots to take over their own ATM decision-making. It will also improve trajectory performance, reduce fuel emissions, and lower fuel costs through performance-based operations, specifically trajectory-based operations and required navigation performance (RNP) techniques and monitoring technology.

Challenges facing these designers right now include costly software and hardware safety certification of NextGen systems and integrating them into old aircraft. Harmonizing with the military is also very important as many military aircraft – manned and unmanned -- fly in civilian airspace. This is especially challenging in Europe as there are many different countries, each with military branches that do not currently work well together.

All these issues are difficult on their own with an economy that tanked and has many avionics suppliers thinking more about how to survive in the mid-term rather than how to integrate NextGen in the mid-term.

This is why I'm most excited about a panel discussion we're having at the event next month on June 3 titled "How to Add New Avionics to Airplanes in Downturn Economy." The panelists are Rudy Bracho, senior manager of business development at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Capt. Brian Will, director airspace modernization and advanced technologies at American Airlines, Chad Cundiff, vice president of crew interface products at Honeywell Aerospace, and Joel Otto, senior director, commercial systems marketing at Rockwell Collins.

I'm the moderator, so if you have any questions you think I should ask these guys, respond here, send them to me at jmchale@pennwell.com, or come on down to San Diego and check out the panel. To register click here.

Shoot me some good ones to get the panelists to open up!

Aer Lingus vs. US Airways

Posted by John McHale

My last two trips have been on Aer Lingus -- back and forth to Amsterdam for our Avionics Europe Conference -- and US Airways, which I flew to Phoenix this week for the Avionics Maintenance Conference.

My last two trips have been on Aer Lingus -- back and forth to Amsterdam for our Avionics Europe Conference -- and US Airways, which I flew to Phoenix this week for the Avionics Maintenance Conference (AMC).

Granted, one was international and therefore offered some more amenities such as an in-flight entertainment (IFE) system with tons of movies, games, and albums from Frank Sinatra to Snow Patrol. However, even if you take away the IFE I'm still voting for the folks at Aer Lingus.

Each time I've flown the Irish airline they have been as friendly as Disney World employees. Twice I've had issues making my connection in Dublin and each time they've done everything they could to get me to my next flight -- making one and missing another. After the missed connection to Boston they put me up for a night in Dublin and picked up the tab.

It's not that my US Airways experience was negative, but nothing made it stand out -- no IFE system and no remarkable service. However, they did get me there safely and on time, which I'm always grateful for .

The keynote at AMC this week -- an executive with US Airways -- said that the airline is installing new IFE systems this year and adding other enhancements to improve passenger comfort.

Good news, but for this Irish Catholic it's hard to top an airline that names all its planes after Irish Saints. I believe I flew home on Saint Kealin, at least that's what the Franciscan Brother sitting next to me told me.

Brother Martin, who spent the last three years helping the poor and drug addicts in Limerick, Ireland, says he loves Aer Lingus simply for that reason.

It seems to make him feel his trip is bit more blessed flying on canonized wings... :)

Conformity with military airborne systems crucial for SESAR integration

Posted by John McHale

The first presentation this morning at our Avionics Europe conference in Amsterdam covered how the military needs to be more involved in the standardization process for next-generation air traffic management technology in Europe -- the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR).

The first presentation this morning at our Avionics Europe conference in Amsterdam covered how the military needs to be more involved in the standardization process for next-generation air traffic management technology in Europe -- the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR).

The speaker -- Dominique Colin, standardization and certification expert at Eurocontrol in Brussels, Belgium -- said if the different European militaries are not involved now and do not embrace these standards then "we will have to wait until 2050 before there is another chance."

Europe's situation is much more complicated than that of the U.S. because there are so many different countries with different military standards, Colin said. Complicating things even more is that the different services in these countries sometimes do not cooperate with each other, he added.

Colin said it is a bit of a messy situation but it can be resolved. He suggested that the military should move toward performance-base operations -- meeting ATM standards through performance benchmarks rather than equipage.

Colin also said that the different standards bodies on the civil side need to develop a better understanding of military processes and standards.

Most importantly both sides need to embrace the standards at the beginning of each program and not halfway through, Colin said. He noted the Airbus A400M tanker aircraft program has from the beginning embraced not only military standards but civil safety and ATM standards as well.

I spoke with one of our conference advisory board members -- Don Ward of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) -- and he confirmed that the U.S. military is easier to work with because it is only one defense department and that the different services within the DOD communicate much better than in years past.

Market outlook positive among Avionics Europe attendees

Posted by John McHale

The mood among attendees and exhibitors at our Avionics Europe conference this week is one of optimism – regarding the market outlook and the developments in next-generation avionics technology.

The mood among attendees and exhibitors at our Avionics Europe conference in Amsterdam this week this week is one of optimism – regarding the market outlook and the developments in next-generation avionics technology.

Many who deal with the commercial market have felt the sting of the current global recession, but feel the market is starting to show signs of coming back – such as the successful flight tests of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and new orders for other aircraft from Boeing and Airbus.

Officials at Green Hills Software in Santa Barbara, Calif., say the European market has been quite strong for safety-critical software applications. Echoing their comment was Barbara Schmitz, chief marketing officer of MEN Mikro Elektronik in Nuremburg, Germany, a recent entrant to the avionics market.

MEN Mikro officials see the avionics market especially in Europe as their next growth opportunity, Schmitz says.

The keynote address by John Law, surveillance programs manager at Eurocontrol in Brussels, Belgium, gave an update on next-generation navigation technology and a roadmap of when it will be integrated. Despite the economic woes, - Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B), Area Multilateration, and Mode-S as already beginning with most technology retrofits completed by 2017.

The military avionics market continues to be steady especially in the U.S. CMC Electronics – an exhibitor at Avionics Europe – say the see increased demand for their military avionics displays in 2010.

Theresa Hartley, an analyst at Forecast International in Washington says that while funding for new military platforms is decreasing, funding for retrofits is increasing, which is good news for military avionics suppliers.

E-networking revolution highlighted 2009

Posted by John McHale

At Avionics Intelligence and Military & Aerospace Electronics in 2009 we dived right into social networking or as we like to call it e-networking. We have a fan page on Facebook, a group on Linkedin called the PennWell Aerospace and Defense Media Group, and gather our news content on Twitter Avionics Intelligence under #avintel and for Military & Aerospace Electronics at #milaero.
At Avionics Intelligence and Military & Aerospace Electronics in 2009 we dived right into social networking or as we like to call it e-networking. We have a fan page on Facebook, a group on Linkedin called the PennWell Aerospace and Defense Media Group, and gather our news content on Twitter for Avionics Intelligence under #avintel and for Military & Aerospace Electronics at #milaero.

It's been a fun and successful way to push out our online news stories to new readers and start discussions. We've found the most interactive outlet to be on Linkedin, which started out as a professional networking site whereas Facebook was focused on more social or personal networking.

Although, yesterday I read a story in the Wall Street Journal that basically stated Linkedin needs to get more creative to keep-up with Facebook. According to the piece Facebook kicks Linkedin's rear in total members. However some analysts in the story say that lopsided memebrship numbers are misleading as Linkedin is strictly a professional networking service whereas Facebook is geared more toward professional and social communication.

I have also found that many people I talk to in the defense and aerospace industry say that their employers do not let them use Facebook or Twitter, but are more flexible when it comes to Linkedin because of its professional nature.

Twitter is its own animal. I've done quite a bit of tweeting while at trade shows. It provides immediate coverage -- albeit in 140 characters or less. I typically will tweet as I'm leaving a booth or sitting in a press conference or luncheon. Twitter allows me to not only push links to articles on our websites but get out little tidbits of info that would not typically make it into the print magazine or on a web story.

Also, much like with our blogs, Twitter allows us to take a different, sometimes lighter spin on current events than traditional news coverage.

What really seems to impress our audience about Twitter is its instantaneous nature.

For example at the MILCOM show this fall in Boston, I attended the first live demonstration of an OpenVPX system run by engineers at Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing in Leesburg, Va., and Hybricon in Ayer, Mass. I tweeted about the demo on my Blackberry while watching it. They were excited because they were videotaping the moment and placing it on youtube -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2_4B9uPKLk -- but got quite a kick out of the fact that I was immediately online with their news.

One person in attendance commented that the age of instant reporting is here.

E-networking media has definitely changed the way we do things at Military & Aerospace Electronics. I remember when all we used to have was a magazine. Now we still have the magazine, two websites, four conferences, webcasts, three e-newsletters, dedicated pages on Linkedin,Facebook, and on Twitter at #avintel and #milaero.

So be sure to check us out wherever you find yourself on the web in 2010.

Happy New Year!

IITSEC not as busy this year but the technology is as cool as ever

Posted by John McHale

Traffic at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) in Orlando, Fla., this week is a little less and the exhibit floor is a little smaller – seems like a whole hall is missing – than last year, but the technology showcased is as cutting edge and just as plain cool as it always was.

Traffic at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) in Orlando, Fla., this week is a little less and the exhibit floor is a little smaller -- seems like a whole hall is missing -- than last year, but the technology showcased is as cutting edge and just as plain cool as it always was.

The annual trade show focuses on technology for training the warfighter such as flight simulators, avionics trainers, vehicular simulators, training systems for avoiding and detecting improvised explosive devises (IEDs), flight displays, image generators, rugged laptops, etc.

While many exhibitors say that traffic is slower than in years past, the market is still strong as military funding for training systems continues to remain steady for new systems as well as retrofits.

Highlights for me at the show aside from my fun with the Rockwell Collins heads-up display pictured here, included a demonstration of manned and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) teaming from L-3 Communications.

L-3 engineers showed that a UAV teamed with a Stryker unit, a rescue helicopter, and an attack helicopter can effectively work together on a mission through streaming video that all have access too. They can train either in the same room or thousands of miles apart.

The L-3 concept will enable warfighters to get this type of team training much earlier than in the past, better preparing them for when they deploy, L-3's Michael Rapavi, told me.

The concept that intrigued me the most was the COMBATREDI portable training system for dismounted soldiers from Cubic in Orlando. The system is worn by the soldier -- run by a computer on his back -- and uses sensors located on his body to determine if he is running, crouching, jumping, etc. Sensors also detect the position of his weapon. The sensors communicate wirelessly with in the system.

Soldiers can use it anywhere even in their living room if need be.

Another thing that I learned in my meeting with Cubic was a new military acronym … just when I thought I heard them all.

I asked whether or not the COMBATREDI system will be able to update its scenarios with real-time intelligence from the field and was told that that will be a P3I, which stands for pre-programmed product improvement ... in other words new capabilities that will be added later.

I heard a story once that an engineer once wrote an entire paragraph using only acronyms ... verbs and all.

I believe it.

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