A senior FAA official says a recent report on the Next Generation (NextGen) system will help reshape the nation's future air traffic control system.

The findings of an RTCA industry/government task force gives the FAA the means to implement the ATC modernization program, said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt at the annual Air Traffic Control Association conference. The task force forged a broad consensus, Babbitt said, and came up with recommendations that are achievable.

Stated the head of the U.S. aviation agency: "The RTCA gave us an excellent head start on the acceleration plans with its recommendations. There wasn't a whole lot of ambiguity in there. We asked the question, "What do you want?" And industry answered. The Task Force has forged a consensus across a wide spectrum of users. The recommendations are clear, actionable, and achievable. And even if it does require us to modify our plans and processes, we are ready to commit appropriate resources and get to work on implementation of Task Force recommendations."

One specific area that could see immediate changes as a result of the RTCA report is required navigation performance (RNP) approaches. "Concerning equipage, we will place NextGen capabilities where they matter. The critics who pointed out that we had some RNP and RNAV approaches in ineffective spots are right. We're going to push for these approaches where they deliver greatest efficiencies. And concerning acceleration itself, we're not going to sacrifice long-term deliverables at the altar of near-term expediencies. Industry wants maximum benefit from today's tools.

Added Babbitt: "NextGen's long-term capabilities aren't a mutually exclusive endeavor. For example, the lessons learned from implementing the recommendations of this task force will help us derive maximum benefit from ADS-B once the supporting infrastructure and standards are in place."

And he said NextGen should be and must be exportable. "Let's be candid with ourselves for a moment: if our equation for NextGen doesn't have an international component, we're in a deep stall. NextGen is not limited to red, white and blue. If we're sure of anything about aviation, it's that change is constant. Today long-range flights are routine..Cooperation and collaboration can't stop at the shoreline. We must make sure that interoperability is the order of the day."