FAA Puts ADS-B on Implementation Fast Track

September 30, 2010 — Following the successful deployment of Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B) in Alaska; the Gulf of Mexico; Louisville, Kentucky; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the FAA has approved full-scale, nationwide deployment of the satellite-based surveillance system by 2013. In an announcement made late last week, the FAA stated, “Every part of the country now covered by radar will have ADS-B coverage. More than 300 of the approximate 800 ADS-B ground stations that will comprise the entire network have already been installed.”

Aircraft flying in controlled airspace will be required to have ADS-B-out avionics - that is, avionics that broadcast their position - installed by 2020.

FAA states that ADS-B will track aircraft “with greater accuracy, integrity, and reliability” than the current radar-based system. ADS-B targets on controller screens update more frequently than radar and show information including aircraft type, call sign, heading, altitude, and speed. Read more on the FAA website.