Northrop Grumman on Monday, Nov. 25 announced the successful flight test of a new active traffic surveillance system with Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) designed to provide U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) aircraft with capabilities required by the FAA’s NextGen airspace modernization program.
The flight test integrated the aerospace and defense manufacturer’s Communications, Navigation, Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) with its Real Time Situational Awareness (RTSA) system which provides a tactical common operational picture to all aircraft within a participating area. CNS/ATM also addresses many of the requirements for the U.S. Air Force’s C-130 avionics modernization program, Northrop said.
ACSS provided a C-12 surrogate airframe to complete the flight test, which occurred in August at Montgomery Field in San Diego, Calif. The air traffic management system uses the T3CAS Traffic Management Computer developed by ACSS.
Military aircraft are required to be equipped with avionics for required navigation performance and area navigation, reduced vertical separation minimums and ADS-B Out by 2015 in Europe and 2020 in the United States.