ADS-B Up and Running

South Florida is the first region to adopt Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) technology under the FAA’s Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) initiative.

ADS-B is the cornerstone of the FAA-mandated NextGen initiative that is intended to increase safety and efficiency to meet the growing needs of air transportation. ADS-B uses GPS satellite signals to provide pilots and air traffic controllers with an unprecedented level of accurate and rapidly updating information about aircraft aloft and on the ground.

Dave Melcher, president of ITT’s Defense Electronics and Services business, said “ultimately, the achievements in South Florida help clear the way for national deployment of ADS-B broadcast services, which will help modernize air transportation and decrease delays.”

 While the adaptation by aircraft will be rolled out over the next several years, some organizations that have their own self-contained fleet of aircraft have already equipped them with ADS-B. Embry Riddle Aeronautical University is relying upon the new technology to aid as a collision avoidance system and to track student pilots.

In August 2007, the FAA awarded ITT a $207 million initial contract to develop, deploy and maintain the ADS-B ground infrastructure. When fully deployed throughout the United States in 2013, the ADS-B ground infrastructure system will enable very accurate aircraft position data to be presented to air traffic controllers and will provide dramatically enhanced aircraft situational awareness. This program will allow an increasing number of aircraft to maintain safe separation, conduct more precise airport approaches and departures, and execute operations key to accommodating increased levels of air traffic.

ITT is currently working toward deployment of broadcast services for 19 additional FAA-defined airspace areas within the United States and deployment of surveillance services to key sites, including Louisville, KY; Philadelphia, PA; the Gulf of Mexico; and Juneau, AK.