by Patty Welsh
66th Air Base Group Public Affairs
7/21/2015 - HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. -- As
the 20th anniversary of Global Positioning System, or GPS, technology
is this month, the Aerospace Management Systems Division here explains
how the technology enables their work enhancing performance and safety
of air traffic management.
"The biggest improvement that GPS technology brought to air traffic
management is that the aircraft itself can reliably know its position
rather than relying on circa 1940s ground-based nav(igation) aids," said
Ben Brandt, MITRE senior technical advisor to the Division's
Communication, Navigation, Surveillance/Air Traffic Management or
CNS/ATM program.
In the United States the transition to GPS-based navigation is a central
tenet of the Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen.
NextGen is a massive initiative between federal partners to modernize
America's air transportation system, and according to documentation
developed by the Federal Aviation Administration, it involves a shift to
satellite-based and digital technology. The Aerospace Management
Systems Division is the main Air Force conduit for participation in
NextGen.
The CNS/ATM program's main focus is to ensure Air Force aircraft can
operate in this NextGen airspace. Program personnel accomplish this by
tracking and contributing to civil aviation standards forums,
interpreting the standards into a set of requirements that can be
leveraged by any Air Force aircraft program, providing subject matter
expertise to aircraft programs in design or development and ultimately
conducting an independent assessment of a program's implementation to
ensure the aircraft can safely operate in the airspace with civilian
aircraft.
GPS technology helps with that interoperability.
The accuracy provided by GPS allows more aircraft to fit in the same
amount of airspace by reducing the space between aircraft while
maintaining the same level of safety, and enables Performance-Based
Navigation. PBN is described on the FAA website as a series of "new
routes and procedures that primarily use satellite-based navigation and
on-board aircraft equipment to navigate with greater precision and
accuracy. PBN provides a basis for designing and implementing automated
flight paths, airspace redesign and obstacle clearance."
"PBN is a primary focus area of NextGen," said Brandt.
For the CNS/ATM office, a core objective is to assess military GPS
receivers to ensure they can provide the necessary and appropriate
information to support capabilities such as PBN.
"The ultimate goal of our GPS-related efforts is to demonstrate that the
performance of our legacy and new M-Code GPS receivers can meet the
performance necessary to be interoperable with civilian air traffic
without requiring our Air Force aircraft to equip with both civil and
military GPS receivers," said Col. Joe Leonard, Division senior materiel
leader.
Another key tenet of Hanscom's work that relies on GPS technology and
will also support NextGen is Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast,
or ADS-B Out. According to program officials, the system relays the
GPS-computed position of the aircraft to the aircraft's transponder and
broadcasts it out from the aircraft once a second. This increased rate
of position notification is much more accurate than the average 4-5
second sweep-rate of traditional secondary surveillance airport radars.
"(ADS-B Out) allows for more precise reporting of position and
information, such as velocity, that can be used in applications other
than air traffic control" said Brandt.
For example, aircraft equipped with ADS-B In receivers can receive other
aircraft ADS-B Out signals and, through cockpit displays, provide
enhanced situational awareness to the pilot. The accuracy of the GPS
position also enables improved surface surveillance and
conflict-avoidance management at busy airports.
ADS-B Out is mandated to be implemented in U.S. airspace on Jan. 1, 2020, and in Europe June 7, 2020.
In addition to NextGen, Brandt says there are other efforts across the
globe under various names, but the philosophy remains the same,
replacing the capabilities provided by an extensive, dated network of
ground navigation aids with GPS-based technology.
"The use of GPS in civil aviation has grown significantly over the last
decade, but there are airlines operating aircraft still today that do
not use GPS," he said.
This is largely due to the previous use of selective availability, which
was an "intentional degradation of public GPS signals implemented for
national security reasons," according to the GPS.gov website. In 2000,
President Clinton authorized its discontinuation to ensure all users,
whether military or civilian, could receive the most accurate
information available.
According to Brandt, the ADS-B mandate will drive more civil aircraft to
use GPS, so its importance as critical infrastructure will continue to
grow.
The CNS/ATM program was originally stood up by the Secretary of Defense
in 1996 to address the addition of Navigation Safety equipment on Air
Force aircraft after a couple of high-profile incidents, including a
CT-43 crash into a mountain in Croatia that killed then Secretary of
Commerce Ron Brown.
Since that time, according to program officials, the CNS/ATM program has
become the Center of Excellence for the Air Force for all capabilities
related to civil airspace access. Recently the Division has teamed with
Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Avionics Engineering Division and
the Space and Missile Systems Center GPS User Equipment Office to
develop a set of recommendations on courses of action Air Force aircraft
can take to integrate ADS-B, Mode 5 IFF and the new M-Code GPS
capabilities, which will be presented to the AFLCMC commander during a
review in August.
by Patty Welsh
66th Air Base Group Public Affairs
7/16/2015 - HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. -- Operators
of a lab here that helps connect and disseminate command, control,
communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance, or C4ISR, elements are collaborating with multiple
parties and producing benefits for all.
The Tactical Data Networks, or TDN, Lab is located with the Hanscom
Collaboration and Innovation Center and provides C4ISR expertise and
equipment. Operators there support quick reaction capability, joint
urgent operational needs, small business innovation research and rapid
innovation fund projects. The team provides rigorous systems engineering
and information assurance, along with rapid prototyping. They have an
expansive range of equipment and lab officials say they can recreate
problems warfighters face in the field today and help troubleshoot.
"We want to ensure we get the right data to the right warfighter at the
right time and in the right format in order for that warfighter to make
the right informed decision," said Steve Brown, senior TDN Lab engineer.
A recent event brought that capability to light, along with a new initiative that provides for efficient and effective testing.
The new Northeast Collaborative Research, Development, Test and
Evaluation Environment, or NCORE, concept brings together assets and
expertise from Air Force Life Cycle Management Center and New England
National Guard units.
"This concept allows for combining relevant experience, initiative and
equipment for local, state and federal collaboration on a multitude of
projects," said Lt. Col. Guy Spencer, Communications Systems Quick
Reaction Capability Branch materiel leader. "Projects utilizing the
NCORE concept and framework can drastically reduce program office costs
while helping to transition C4ISR-enabling technology -- that has been
operationally tested by warfighters -- to the tactical edge faster."
In June, personnel from LCMC and Rhode Island and Massachusetts National
Guard units executed the NCORE inaugural event: integrating Efficient
XML/Mobility Airborne-networking Multi-Layer Sensing, or EFX/MAMLS, into
the Dynamic Retasking Capability system on a 143rd Airlift Wing C-130J
aircraft. DRC enables real-time digital changes to a mission while the
aircraft is already in flight.
LCMC's TDN Lab provided the satellite communications connectivity,
ensuring all messaging passed correctly. The National Guard provided the
operators and aircraft. LCMC personnel both locally and from the KC-46
Development-Avionics Program Office at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base,
Ohio, along with contractor personnel, provided expertise on the system
upgrade installation and flight testing.
The team completed a number of flights to provide tactical relevancy.
Weather updates from the actual drop zone were provided to the aircraft
as it completed airdrops, and the EFX/MAMLS upgrade to the DRC system
was demonstrated to provide relevant and timely data while significantly
reducing SATCOM bandwidth requirements.
"Reducing satellite bandwidth to transmit C4ISR data elements will
reduce overall operational costs, and the faster message transmission
times achieved can potentially save lives in a tactical situation," said
Brown.
Exhibiting another benefit, the DRC also received and transmitted
Mobility Enterprise Information Services Command and Control, or MEIS
C2, messages, which was not previously possible on this platform.
"This project exemplifies the original intent of the RIF [Rapid
Innovation Fund] program and the broad collaboration certainly
highlights it's a one-team Air Force effort," said John Slye, AFLCMC
Tanker Directorate Engineering director, whose team was evaluating this
RIF effort.
As members of the TDN Lab look to test and prototype Department of
Defense technology by proactively aligning research, development, test
and evaluation, or RDT&E, project test schedules to New England
National Guard training cycles, savings can be garnered by reducing
flight testing and travel costs.
In addition, developers receive immediate warfighter feedback while the
Guard units are able to log flying hours and receive training on
newly-developed technologies.
"The Northeast collaborative is another example of the synergy created
between New England and, specifically, Massachusetts National Guard
units and Hanscom Air Force Base, which capitalizes on the rich
high-tech experience and expertise of our Soldiers, Airmen and
Civilians," said Maj. Gen. L. Scott Rice, the adjutant general of the
Massachusetts National Guard. "This combination is second to none and
will put all agencies involved at the forefront of technology.
According to lab officials, many of the participating Guard members also
feel a sense of pride and ownership for contributing to the successful
development of new capabilities.
The TDN Lab has a successful track record and has one of the largest
communications capabilities in the Northeast. Some previous achievements
include successful QRC risk reduction testing and providing support to
the Global Observer, a liquid hydrogen-powered unmanned aerial vehicle,
Joint Capabilities Technology Demonstration.
Upgrades are in the work for the TDN Lab. With the advent of a new
120-foot composite antenna mast, expected to be operational in November
2015, the lab's capabilities will multiply by being able to reach and
communicate with military operational areas in New York and Vermont. In
addition, the antenna mast will also support federal and state emergency
management agencies in cases of natural catastrophes or national
emergencies.
Currently, the lab works on approximately 20-24 projects per year and is hoping to grow its reach.
"We want people to know we don't do 'drive-by' fielding; we inject
technical rigor into the products under test in a relevant tactical
environment leading to a 'test as we fight' concept," said Brown.
"We're here to support AFLCMC and the entire DOD and now, with the NCORE
concept, we'll be able to expand on what we provide in a more efficient
and cost effective manner."
For more information about the TDN Lab or NCORE, contact the lab at (781) 225-6636 or DSN 845-6636.
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