The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has just released its visionary NextGen Implementation Plan (NGIP), laying out the U.S. aviation agency's progress and goals for the future in implementing new capabilities and new technologies in the mid-term to 2018.

The report supports many of the recommendations issued in September by the RTCA Task Force, including sharing surface movement data. The report also reiterates the agency's support of wider use of technologies and procedures, particularly in light of increasing air traffic and the introduction of very light jets, unmanned aircraft systems and commercial space flights. The report mentions Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), data communications, performance-based navigation and safety management systems.

"Policy, procedures and systems on the ground and in the flight deck enable the mid-term system," according to the executive summary of the report. "We make the most of technologies and procedures that are in use today, as we introduce new systems and procedures that will fundamentally change air traffic automation, surveillance, communications, navigation and the way we manage information."

In an introduction to the report, FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt called 2010 a key year for NextGen. "With this agency, this industry and this country now firmly committed to this path forward, it's time to roll up our sleeves and work together to maintain the NextGen momentum achieved over the past year," he said.

According to the agency's latest estimates, NextGen will reduce total flight delays by 2018 by about 21 percent, providing $22 billion in cumulative benefits to the traveling public, aircraft operators and FAA. During this same period, we expect to save more than 1.4 billion gallons of fuel from air traffic operations alone, cutting carbon emissions by nearly 14 million tons.