Air Force targets FAA compliance during CNS conference

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Peter Vayda
  • Communications, Navigation, Surveillance and Air Traffic Management

HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. -- The Air Force is hosting a conference at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, designed to integrate navigation and air traffic control systems into military aircraft in order to stay current with Federal Aviation Administration and international air traffic regulations.

This year's event will be held April 11-13 at the Holiday Inn Dayton/Fairborn, approximately 10 minutes from Wright-Patterson AFB. The conference is Department of Defense approved, and registration is free for all attendees. Registration deadline is March 20. The move to Wright-Patterson AFB makes it more convenient for government personnel and local industry partners to attend, program officials noted.

"We're hoping our continued work with industry partners, civilian aviation authorities and military branches will continue the Air Force's record as the most professional, safest flying organization on earth," said Burt Wadas, Air Traffic Systems branch chief at the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts. "It's critical we identify and target system updates that are required for our aircraft to be safe and fully operational wherever we fly. This conference helps us plan how to do that."

CNS/ATM is a combination of aircraft communications, navigation and surveillance technologies designed to improve air traffic management and flight safety while more efficiently using civil airspace.

The main goals are to aid Air Force aircraft platforms in increasing system capacities and meeting on-board avionics standards that are driven by authorities such as the International Civil Aviation Organization, Federal Aviation Administration and other civil aviation authorities. Without meeting these civil standards, Air Force aircraft may not be able to operate in certain airspaces where new airspace architectures and air traffic management procedures are implemented.

The conference's "Future Needs, Met Now" theme emphasizes the long-standing objective to provide warfighters with airspace access to conduct global flight operations by promoting civil CNS/ATM requirements, sharing expertise and improving DoD processes for complying with emerging civil CNS/ATM technologies and mandates.

The three-day forum will focus on worldwide avionics CNS/ATM requirements and issues; however, there will be specific emphasis on combining policies with up-and-coming technologies.

Presentations will be given by experts in the three major avionics areas - communications, navigation and surveillance - and will cover a range of topics to include: worldwide airspace infrastructure, current and projected requirements by geographic location and the benefits of meeting civil mandates as they pertain to military operations.

For more information on the event, email the CNS/ATM Center of Excellence at AFLCMC.HBAG.CNS-ATMPLANNING@us.af.mil.