Delivery Order NNL06AA05B-NNL10AC92T

FCSR TASK ORDER: TASK ORDER TITLE: CONFLICT DETECTION AND RESOLUTION FOR NEXTGEN TERMINAL MANEUVERING AREA FOLLOW-ON 1.0 BACKGROUND: BY 2025, U.S. AIR TRAFFIC IS PREDICTED TO INCREASE 3-FOLD, YET THE CURRENT AIR TRAFFIC SYSTEM MAY NOT BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE THIS GROWTH. IN RESPONSE TO THIS CHALLENGE, A CONSORTIUM OF INDUSTRY, ACADEMIA AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES HAVE PROPOSED A REVOLUTIONARY NEW CONCEPT FOR U.S. AVIATION OPERATIONS, TERMED THE NEXT GENERATION AIR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM OR NEXTGEN. EMERGING NEXTGEN OPERATIONAL CONCEPTS REPRESENT A RADICALLY DIFFERENT APPROACH TO AIR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT AND AS A RESULT, A DRAMATIC SHIFT IN THE TASKS, ROLES, AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE FLIGHT DECK TO ENSURE A SAFE, SUSTAINABLE AIR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM. TO SUPPORT THE OPERATIONAL GOALS OF NEXTGEN, THE JOINT PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE (JPDO) HAS PUBLISHED A CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS (CONOPS) AND AN INTEGRATED WORK PLAN TO DEVELOP THE TECHNOLOGIES THAT IT CONSIDERS VITAL TO REACH THE NEXTGEN GOALS. THIS VISION ILLUSTRATES MANY OF THE CHALLENGES TO ACHIEVING A NEXTGEN OPERATING ENVIRONMENT. IN PARTICULAR, ONE OF THE KEY CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH THE NEXTGEN INVOLVES AUTOMATED SURFACE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS THAT UTILIZE DYNAMIC ALGORITHMS TO CALCULATE THE MOST EFFICIENT MOVEMENT OF ALL SURFACE TRAFFIC TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY. PILOTS WILL BE REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH 4-DIMENSIONAL (4-D) TAXI CLEARANCES, DICTATING THAT AIRCRAFT ARRIVE AT SPECIFIC LOCATIONS WITHIN SPECIFIC TIME WINDOWS. FURTHER, PILOTS MAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR SEPARATION FROM OTHER AIRCRAFT DURING THESE OPERATIONS REGARDLESS OF VISIBILITY CONDITIONS. PROACTIVE SAFETY LAYERS ENABLE PRESENT-DAY OPERATIONS. THESE LAYERS INCLUDE AUTOMATION TO MANAGE, ASSIST AND EVEN, CONDUCT THESE PROCEDURES AND OPERATIONS. IN TODAYS OPERATIONS, A SIGNIFICANT LAYER OF CONFLICT DETECTION AND RESOLUTION (CD & R) CAPABILITY IS PROVIDED BY THE TRAFFIC ALERT AND COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEM (TCAS). TCAS HAS BEEN DEVELOPED AND IMPROVED FOR OVER 15 YEARS AND HAS BEEN VERY EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING OR ELIMINATING AIRBORNE COLLISIONS. NEXTGEN OPERATIONAL CONCEPTS ARE BEGINNING TO EMERGE TO MEET THE PROJECTED AIR TRAFFIC SERVICE DEMANDS. IT WILL BE VITAL TO RETAIN AND EVEN IMPROVE UPON THESE PROACTIVE SAFETY LAYERS FOR NEXTGEN. LIMITED RESEARCH TO DATE HAS BEEN CONDUCTED ON CONCEPTS AND ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH CD & R IN A NEXTGEN ENVIRONMENT, PARTICULARLY IN THE TERMINAL MANEUVERING AREA (TMA) AND ON THE SURFACE. RESEARCH TO DATE INDICATES THAT WHILE THE USE OF TCAS MAY WORK FOR ENVISIONED TRAJECTORY-BASED 4-D OPERATIONS, THE SUITABILITY OF TCAS DEGRADES IN OPERATIONS NEARING THE AIRPORT FOR OPERATIONAL CONCEPTS LIKE THOSE MOST LIKELY TO EMERGE FOR NEXTGEN. RESEARCH FOR CD & R IN A 4-D SURFACE OPERATIONS ENVIRONMENT IS IN ITS INFANCY. ANOTHER IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION IS THAT THE 4-D TERMINAL AREA OPERATIONS CONCEPTS PROPOSED FOR NEXTGEN ARE BEING BUILT UPON PRESENT-DAY OPERATIONS THAT ARE ALREADY PROBLEMATIC. THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD CONTINUES TO INCLUDE RUNWAY SAFETY ON ITS MOST WANTED LIST OF AVIATION TRANSPORTATION SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS. IN THE FOUR YEAR PERIOD BETWEEN 2005 AND 2008, 3,496 RUNWAY INCURSION EVENTS WERE REPORTED (USING THE NEW ICAO DEFINITION FOR RUNWAY INCURSION). THE PRESENT-DAY STATISTICS AND EVENTS ARE CAUSE ENOUGH FOR ALARM BUT, WITHOUT PROACTIVE COUNTER-MEASURES, THE INCREASE IN AIR TRAFFIC FORECASTED UNDER NEXTGEN AND USING NOVEL 4-D OPERATING CONCEPTS COULD POTENTIALLY RESULT IN CATASTROPHIC INCREASES IN RUNWAY AND TAXIWAY INCURSION ACCIDENTS. 2.0 SCOPE / OBJECTIVES: THE SCOPE OF THIS TASK IS TO DELIVER A REPORT THAT IDENTIFIES AND QUANTIFIES THE SAFETY ISSUES, CHALLENGES, TECHNICAL HURDLES AND REQUIREMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH CD & R IN EMERGING OPERATIONAL CONCEPTS FOR THE NEXTGEN TMA, INCLUDING SURFACE OPERATIONS. THIS TASK IS INTENDED TO BUILD UP THE RESEARCH PREVIOUSLY CONDUCTED UNDER TASK ORDER NNL08AD71T.