Rule2023-12607
Changes to Surveillance and Broadcast Services
Primary source
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Published
June 23, 2023
Effective
June 23, 2023
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentFederal Aviation Administration
Abstract
This document announces termination of the Mode-S Traffic Information Service (TIS) at FAA terminal Mode-S radar sites. The FAA is replacing legacy terminal Mode-S radars via the Mode-S Beacon Replacement System (MSBRS) program, or may remove legacy terminal Mode- S radars as part of other ongoing activities. As each legacy terminal Mode-S Radar is replaced or removed, the FAA will no longer provide Mode-S TIS to capable transponders from that location. This change does not affect existing Traffic Information Service--Broadcast (TIS-B), Automatic Dependent Surveillance--Rebroadcast (ADS-R), or Automatic Dependent Surveillance--Same Link Rebroadcast (ADS-SLR) services currently provided to aircraft with a properly functioning Automatic Dependent Surveillance--Broadcast (ADS-B) system.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 120 (Friday, June 23, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 120 (Friday, June 23, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 41023-41024]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-12607]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 91
[Docket No.: FAA-2022-1212]
Changes to Surveillance and Broadcast Services
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notification of changes to surveillance services.
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SUMMARY: This document announces termination of the Mode-S Traffic
Information Service (TIS) at FAA terminal Mode-S radar sites. The FAA
is replacing legacy terminal Mode-S radars via the Mode-S Beacon
Replacement System (MSBRS) program, or may remove legacy terminal Mode-
S radars as part of other ongoing activities. As each legacy terminal
Mode-S Radar is replaced or removed, the FAA will no longer provide
Mode-S TIS to capable transponders from that location. This change does
not affect existing Traffic Information Service--Broadcast (TIS-B),
Automatic Dependent Surveillance--Rebroadcast (ADS-R), or Automatic
Dependent Surveillance--Same Link Rebroadcast (ADS-SLR) services
currently provided to aircraft with a properly functioning Automatic
Dependent Surveillance--Broadcast (ADS-B) system.
DATES: Effective June 23, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical questions concerning
this document, contact: Michael Freie, Technical Advisor, Surveillance
Services, AJM-4, Air Traffic Organization, Federal Aviation
Administration, 600 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20597;
telephone: 202-528-2337; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#82efebe1eae3e7eeace4f0e7ebe7c2e4e3e3ace5edf4"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5c31353f343d3930723a2e3935391c3a3d3d723b332a">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Executive Summary
In 2018, the FAA performed an assessment of the safety impacts on
general aviation owners and operators (from here on referred to as
``the GA Community'') from the termination of Mode-S Traffic
Information Service (TIS). The purpose of this work was to communicate
information on the removal of Mode-S TIS from the National Airspace
System (NAS) through user outreach and engaging with non-governmental
organizations (e.g., Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA), Aircraft
Owner and Pilots Association (AOPA), Experimental Aircraft Association
(EAA), and General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA)). Taking
into consideration the results of the FAA study and the benefits from
the ADS-B In traffic services available in the NAS, the FAA determined
that removal of Mode-S TIS had little to no significant adverse safety
impact on the GA Community. Therefore, beginning in 2024, Mode-S TIS
will terminate at each radar location as current Mode-S radars are
replaced by the Mode-S Beacon Replacement System (MSBRS) program, or as
legacy terminal Mode-S radars are removed as part of other ongoing
activities. The GA Community should no longer rely on reception of
Mode-S TIS information from FAA capable radars.
I. Background
In 2000, FAA implemented Mode-S Traffic Information System (TIS)
via Mode-S radar data-link functionality. Mode-S TIS has also been
referred to informally as TIS-A by some in industry. Mode-S TIS was
implemented by FAA in response to an NTSB recommendation suggesting
improvement of situational awareness information for the general
aviation (GA) community not equipped with a traffic alert and collision
avoidance system (TCAS). Reception of Mode-S TIS information was not a
functionality that was required for Mode-S transponders. To this day, a
very limited set of transponders are known to be capable of receiving
and processing Mode-S TIS information from FAA terminal radars.
In May 2010, the FAA published 14 CFR 91.225 and 91.227, requiring
aircraft to be equipped with Automatic Dependent Surveillance--
Broadcast (ADS-B) Out equipment by 1 January 2020 in order to operate
in certain U.S. airspace. ADS-B was identified as the backbone for the
future of the FAA's Next Generation (NextGen) programs. From 2010
through 2020, the FAA funded deployment of approximately 700 ADS-B
radio stations across the U.S. to provide improved surveillance
coverage across the NAS. Along with improving surveillance coverage,
the FAA implemented functionality into ADS-B radio stations geared at
providing appropriately equipped GA aircraft with enhanced situational
awareness through both Traffic Information Services--Broadcast (TIS-B)
and Automatic Dependent Surveillance--Rebroadcast (ADS-R).\1\ In 2016,
FAA funded the addition of Automatic Dependent Surveillance--Same Link
Rebroadcast (ADS-SLR) service at the busiest U.S. airports with a
surface surveillance system.\2\
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\1\ More information on TIS-B and ADS-R can be found at the
FAA's NEXTGEN ADS-B website: <a href="https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/programs/adsb">https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/programs/adsb</a>.
\2\ FAA has two surface surveillance systems: ASSC (Airport
Surface Surveillance Capability) and ASDE-X (Airport Surface
Detection Equipment, Model X). See <a href="https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/programs/adsb/atc/assc">https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/programs/adsb/atc/assc</a> and <a href="https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/technology/asde-x">https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/technology/asde-x</a>.
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In the decades following the initial Mode-S TIS deployment, the FAA
implemented improved systems for provisioning information on proximate
aircraft to GA pilots through the use of TIS-B, ADS-R, and ADS-SLR
services. These new services expand beyond the
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currently provided Mode-S TIS. With the ADS-B mandate in effect since
January 2020, and low-cost avionics systems for receiving and
displaying ADS-B, ADS-R, ADS-SLR, and TIS-B information are readily
available, the GA community is able to obtain a heightened situational
awareness of the traffic around them. This is especially true when
flying around the terminal areas where significant ADS-B coverage is
available today.
As of March 6, 2023, approximately 133,486 aircraft have been
identified as receiving ADS-B In information on one or both of the
mandated ADS-B frequencies. The vast majority of these are general
aviation aircraft due to the number of portable ADS-B In devices or
integrated ADS-B In/Out systems available to this market.
Mode-S Radar Beacon Replacement System
Many FAA Mode-S terminal radars are approaching the end of their
useful lifecycle. Additionally, the FAA is facing an increased
maintenance cost from the inability to purchase parts, due to parts
obsolescence or part shortages, necessary to ensure continued
operational availability. To mitigate this, the FAA has initiated a
radar modernization effort called the Mode-S Beacon Replacement System
(MSBRS) program. Under this program, the FAA intends to replace at
least forty-six (46) aging Mode-S terminal radars starting in 2024.
Starting in 2024 as the new MSBRS radars replace the existing terminal
radars, the existing Mode-S TIS functionality will disappear at the
location of each replaced terminal radar.
Replacement of the existing terminal radars capable of providing
Mode-S TIS under the MSBRS Program will provide an improvement in air
traffic control (ATC) capabilities, which will benefit civil and
military aviation, including general aviation. Installation of the new
state-of-the-art MSBRS radars will improve system operational
reliability and reduce system down time.
During this timeframe, the FAA will continue to provide Mode-S TIS
through the existing terminal radars until the existing radar is
replaced with a new MSBRS radar. This document is intended to provide
time for GA aircraft owners and operators who have not yet equipped
with an ADS-B receiver to acquire and install, if appropriate, an ADS-B
In capable system.
Other FAA Surveillance System Improvement Activities
Independent of the MSBRS program, FAA is also engaged in multiple
activities aimed at improving existing surveillance systems. These
activities are aimed at reducing FAA operating costs and/or reducing
congestion on surveillance system RF frequencies. As these activities
proceed, FAA may remove one or more Mode-S terminal radars from
operation, which would eliminate Mode-S TIS at that location.
II. Industry Discussion on Mode-S TIS Removal
Using surveys and discussions with industry organizations, the FAA
was able to obtain the necessary data required to understand the
potential safety impacts from removing Mode-S TIS functionality from
the existing terminal radars. FAA conducted surveys, such as the
General Aviation/Part 135 Air Taxi Activity Survey, to produce a set of
comprehensive data on part 91 and part 135 aircraft and their
operations. The FAA reviewed data from survey reports for 2010, 2014,
2016, 2018, and 2019, and discussed these reports with industry
association experts. The data from these reports were utilized to study
the relevant surveillance equipage for all types of aircraft: Fixed
Wing Piston, Fixed Wing turboprop single and multi-engine, turbojet,
and rotorcraft.
Since 2018, the FAA has conducted industry briefings and
discussions with major avionics manufacturing companies on the MSBRS
program and the associated planned removal of Mode-S TIS from terminal
radars. These discussions assisted in gathering pertinent information
on equipage and gaining insight into potential concerns. Taking into
consideration this information and the survey results, as well as the
ADS-B In traffic services available to the cockpit via low-cost
portable or integrated devices, the FAA determined that removal of
Mode-S TIS had little to no significant adverse safety impacts on the
GA Community.
III. Summary
Based on industry engagement, FAA has determined that the removal
of Mode-S TIS functionality will have little to no safety impact on the
GA community.
Removal of legacy terminal Mode-S radars may occur as part of other
ongoing FAA activities to divest radars or which are being replaced
with other modern cooperative surveillance systems. These activities
are being pursued to lower FAA operating costs and/or reduce congestion
on surveillance system RF frequencies.
Aircraft operating within ADS-B mandated airspace, specified under
14 CFR 91.225, have transitioned their avionics equipment to be
compliant with the performance requirements of the regulation. If the
ADS-B Out equipment is performing and configured properly, aircraft
equipped with ADS-B In are capable of receiving ADS-R, ADS-SLR, and
TIS-B services from the FAA ADS-B ground stations across the NAS. These
low-cost ADS-B In avionics systems are widely available, and provide
the GA community with a heightened situational awareness of the traffic
around them which was not previously available using solely Mode-S TIS
information. These services expand coverage and more than replace the
information currently provided by Mode-S TIS.
Issued in Washington, DC, on June 7, 2023.
Daniel S. Hicok,
Deputy Vice President (A), Program Management Organization, Air Traffic
Organization.
[FR Doc. 2023-12607 Filed 6-22-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P
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