Standardisation and Certification

The ADS-B standardisation work was driven by the Requirements Focus Group (RFG), with principal membership from EUROCONTROL, FAA, EUROCAE, RTCA and participation from Australia, Canada and Japan.

The ADS-B standardisation work is now completed for all “ADS-B out” and ATSAW applications. It has delivered the Safety, Performance and Interoperability Requirements for:

• ADS-B in Non Radar Airspace (ADS-B - NRA)
• ADS-B in Radar Airspace (ADS-B - RAD)
• ADS-B for Airport Surface Surveillance (ADS-B - APT)
• ATSAW In-Trail Procedure in oceanic airspace (ATSA - ITP)
• ATSAW Visual Separation in Approach (ATSA - VSA)
• ATSAW during Flight Operations (ATSA - AIRB)
• ATSAW on the Airport Surface (ATSA - SURF)

In addition, the standardisation of the first spacing application has also been completed with the delivery of the Safety, Performance and Interoperability Requirements for:

• Flight Deck Interval Management (ASPA-FIM)

The internationally harmonized standardisation work, including the co-ordination through ICAO, enables global interoperability and ensures that equipped aircraft can use their installations worldwide.

Regarding airworthiness approval, the first milestone for ADS-B-NRA was achieved through the EASA AMC 20-24 (“Acceptable Means of Compliance”) material, published in 2008. On a worldwide scale, the EASA ADS-B-NRA Airworthiness approval was applied to Australia and Canada (Hudson-Bay).  Other implementations are expected to follow (e.g. Iceland, Portugal).  In addition, ADS-B-NRA certification also supports early “ADS-B In” implementations (e.g. ATSA-AIRB and ITP).

On the ground side, the Technical Specifications for the ADS-B Ground Station in support of ADS-B NRA are published by EUROCAE (ED-129).

The next milestone of the EASA airworthiness approval is the certification of “ADS-B Out” avionics, to be compliant with the European Commission SPI IR mandate. The relevant Certification Specification material is expected to be published in 2012. It will cover ADS-B as a complement to radar, even in high-density airspace (ADS-B - RAD), the airport applications (ADS-B - APT and ATSA - SURF) and the “ADS-B Out” requirements of ATSAW applications .

On the airborne side, the new standard for ADS-B 1090 ES (ED-102A/DO-260B) has been published by EUROCAE and RTCA. This will supersede the existing standards (ED-102 / DO-260 and DO-260A) and will become Means of Compliance for the SPI IR.

The follow-up work for the Technical Specifications of the ADS-B Ground Station in support of “ADS-B out” applications (such as ADS-B RAD), which will ensure compliance with the Implementing Rule (ED-129A) is expected to be launched in 2012. 

Regarding “ADS-B in”, joint work by EUROCAE and RTCA is ongoing on the development of Aircraft Surveillance Application (ASA) MOPS (ED194/DO317A), expected to be approved in December 2011. The MOPS will form the key reference for the related EASA “ADS-B in” certification regulation.

Standardisation work focusing on the needs of General Aviation in terms of “ADS-B Out” and “ADS-B In” has also started.

Regarding WAM, the Technical Specification for Wide Area Multilateration system (ED-142) has also been published by EUROCAE.