Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast

ADS-B Implementation Status

Status November 2019, EU27+4 registered fleet, Version Number 2 (ED-102A/ DO260B)

To pave the way for the transformation of the European surveillance infrastructure towards the less costly and more spectrum efficient ADS-B technology, Airspace Users operating in EU airspace with airplanes of more than 5.7 tons maximum certified takeoff mass (MTOM) or maximum cruising true airspeed capability greater than 250 knots (KTAS) have been mandated by European Commission per Commission Implementing Regulation EU No 1207/2011 (SPI IR), amended by EU No 1028/2014 and EU 2017/386 to implement SPI IR compliant avionics, including ADS-B version 2 (according to EASA CS-ACNS and EUROCAE ED-102A) before June 7th 2020. The mandate applies to all GAT/IFR flights within the EU airspace, including operators whose state of registry is outside of the EU but operate into or across the EU airspace.

The European Commission tasked SESAR Deployment Manager (SDM) with the planning and execution of a coordinated and synchronized aircraft and ground implementation of ADS-B. In response to this request SDM produced the ADS-B Implementation Plan, the first edition of which was delivered and published in December 2018. SDM partnered with EUROCONTROL which supports the activity, by, amongst others, performing the operational and technical coordination, feedback from its NM performance monitoring on ADS-B as well as contributing to the preparation of the activity deliverables.

The 2018 edition of the ADS-B Implementation Plan established that the target date of the SPI IR, 7^th June 2020, was not likely to be achieved by a non-negligible portion of the affected EU-based Airspace Users. Continuous monitoring of the implementation effort currently predicts the achievable proportion approaching 80% of EU27+4 registered aircraft which are subject to the Rule, on the target date.

In order to provide an appropriate measure of legal accommodation of this residual fleet whilst keeping the target date unchanged, the European Commission tasked EASA to elaborate an amendment of the rule.  The draft amendment is now available on public consultation at the European Commission Better Regulation Portal. In this figure, SESAR Deployment Manager presents an analysis of the operative section of the draft dealing with the transitional measures.

SESAR Deployment Manager invites all stakeholders to submit well-founded comments detailing their assessment of the effectiveness of the proposed provisions, to the European Commission at no later than 10/02/2020. In particular, SDM suggests for stakeholders to take note of the following effects:

• Mode S Elementary Surveillance (ELS) remains mandatory for all aircraft groups;
• Concerning ADS-B and Mode S Enhanced Surveillance, all mandated aircraft can be categorized to fall in one of the three groups, defined on the basis of the date of issue of the first individual Certificate of Airworthiness, as per the figure above;
• The minimum standard for the secondary surveillance transponder is rolled back to ICAO Annex 10, 3^rd edition, including amendments up to No. 77;
• Export and maintenance exemptions are provided;
• Scheduled regular ground tests of the Transponder system are removed from the mandate;
• No changes are proposed with regards to the use of the required airborne capability in the ANS ground systems, however the freedom to impose additional carriage requirements is retracted from the Member States.

There are numerous ADS-B mandates anticipated or already in place in many parts of the world. The map below shows in green regions requiring at least ADS-B version 0, in dark blue the ones requiring ADS-B version 2, together with the anticipated date of entry-into-force, and in grey where regulatory activity is ongoing and mandates are expected in the near future. Note that the map will be regularly updated as new information becomes available.

The EU Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) have reported a substantial ADS-B sensor coverage in Europe available from ground based systems; primarily from combined WAM/ADS-B systems but also ADS-B only Ground systems. ADS-B capable radars as well as space-based ADS-B coverage are expected to make a substantial contribution towards a global ADS-B coverage in the coming years.

Having secured coverage, the ANSP will next proceed to integrate ADS-B data in its surveillance chain; this integration in the EU ATM systems is currently limited, with ANSPs citing aircraft ADS-B equipage, ADS-B performance and regulatory concerns as the necessary conditions to be resolved. However, a majority of EU based national ANSPs have at least some plans in place to proceed with integration in the near future, given the availability of a sufficient aircraft equipage ratio. SDM believes that those concerns will be addressed and resolved adequately as ADS-B implementation progresses.

If the integration is properly synchronized across domains and supported by a competent programme to catalyze ground investment plans, many ANSPs indicated their willingness to commit to technical and operational integration activities that could use the ADS-B sensor coverage across the vast majority of the continental airspace as early as 2023.

The primary use-case for ADS-B in the complex and traffic heavy European airspace is that of a complementary sensor to independent surveillance. In that role, ADS-B will open up substantial rationalization potential in the very dense European network of secondary radars. The use of ADS-B as sole means will occur in specific environments, characterized by low traffic density and/or lack of independent alternatives. This use case has already been successfully deployed operationally in a number of locations; the ICAO NAT region is a prime deployment location for sole-means ADS-B.

It is evident that a strong momentum to progress with ADS-B deployment exists in both the airborne and the ground domain. A harmonized ground and air deployment programme is important to synchronize and catalyze these efforts, to ensure that substantial ADS-B operational use is commonplace in Europe from mid 2020s.