WASHINGTON, DC, December 4, 2009 – In a move that puts in place a fundamental building block of NextGen, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has finalized the industry-wide technical standard orders (TSOs) for Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B).  The ADS-B infrastructure is the backbone of NextGen and underpins government and industry efforts to reduce air traffic delays and realize environmental benefits. 

As a key investment for NextGen, ADS-B will migrate the existing radar surveillance infrastructure from the ground to a distributed aircraft and ground-based system. Previously, manufacturers did not have the standards necessary to design and build ADS-B equipment needed to meet the performance required for NextGen.  These standards will now permit manufacturers to move forward with the production of ADS-B equipment.  If the necessary financial incentives are also made available by the federal government, there will be a dramatic acceleration of NextGen benefits including improved safety and reduced costs for the FAA. 

"These standards are a significant success for NextGen, especially as we consider near-term opportunities to accelerate capacity, efficiency and safety benefits," said Rob Wilson, GAMA chairman and president of Honeywell Business and General Aviation.  "The FAA has taken a considerable step forward by finalizing these TSOs and we look forward to continuing a strong government-industry partnership in order to maintain this momentum as we move toward equipage and implementation."

GAMA’s President and CEO Pete Bunce added, "As we shift from the planning to implementation stages of NextGen, it is even more critical that we move forward with reauthorization of the FAA and the discussion over the role of federal funding for onboard avionics equipage.  We see a crucial role for the federal government in accelerating the deployment of NextGen through equipment funding. Equipment incentives are essential for achieving NextGen capacity, environmental and efficiency benefits at an earlier date."