Michele Merkle - AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL WORKSHOP - Panel 3: Air traffic control in the next decade: trends and innovation for the future

2. NextGen: A Look at the Next Decade
31 March 2017
Wings of Change Workshop, Panel 3
Michele Merkle
Federal Aviation Administration

3. Our Objectives for the Future

4. Reducing Delays and Increasing Capacity Management
Requires Transformation of the System
Current efforts are based on providing
information to the controller who then…
ª needs to make a decision
AND THEN
ª relays this information with voice
AND THEN
ª provides all the monitoring with minimal
support.
We must transform aviation
to meet our challenges

5. Transformation of Methods
Surveillance Based Control:
Control on Where We Know the
Aircraft Is
• VOR/DME
• RADAR
Trajectory Based Control:
Control on Where We Know
the Aircraft Will Be
• RNP
• ADS-B
• DataComm

6. FAA ATM Transformation
6
Trajectory Based Operations: Time Based Management with
Performance Based Navigation
Past Practices NextGen Improvements
• Controllers and operators do not have same
information to inform decisions
• Future time and position of the aircraft not known
by all parties*
• Routing limited by ground-based
navigational infrastructure
• Controllers communicate by voice to each
individual aircraft
• Operational choke points across phases
of flight
• Tactical and reactive air traffic control
• Shared information (e.g., weather, traffic, system
status) for collaborative decision-making
• Future intended time and position of aircraft known
for optimal flight and traffic flow
• More efficient flight routes and aircraft performance
based procedures using GPS navigation
• Controllers communicate via digital messages to
multiple aircraft at a time
• Operations integrated across phases of flight for
gate-to-gate efficiency
• Strategic air traffic management
*Operators, aircrews, pilots, dispatchers, controllers, operations centers and traffic managers

7. Delivering NextGen Improvements
7
Communication, Navigation, Surveillance, Information Sharing, Weather
National Airspace System (NAS) Voice System (NVS), Data Communications (Data Comm), Automatic Dependent
Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), System Wide Information Management (SWIM), Common Support Services-
Weather (CSS-Wx), NextGen Weather Processor (NWP)
Foundational Infrastructure
Automation Platforms for Terminal, En Route, Tower and Traffic Flow Management
7
Departure Queue
Management, Pre-departure
Reroutes, Collaborative
Trajectory Options Program,
Integrated Departure/Arrival
Capability
Airborne Trajectory
Negotiation, Adjacent and
Extended Metering,
Airborne Reroutes
Ground Interval
Management, Path Stretch,
Terminal Sequencing and
Spacing

8. Keys to NextGen Transformation
8

9. Drivers of Our Future
• New Entrants (Commercial
Space, Unmanned Aircraft
Systems)
• Cybersecurity
• International Collaboration
• Equipage
Cybersecurity
UAS
9

10. 10
Looking Beyond NextGen
• FAA is conducting early work to look at future
possibilities in the 2040 timeframe.
• FAA has a partnership with NASA to create
technologies to help NextGen fulfill its promise.
• The goal is to clearly define the most compelling
technical challenges facing the aviation industry, and
retire these challenges in a time frame that is
supported by the stakeholders and required by NASA’s
customers.

11. Thank you
Obrigada
www.faa.gov/nextgen/