U.S. Air Force in European Airspace: Planning Future CNS/ATM Capabilities

Abstract

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) relies on Communication Navigation Surveillance / Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) equipment for capabilities that allow its aircraft to use civil airspace and interact with air traffic control services. The resulting ability to interoperate with air traffic control systems around the world is critical to support the USAF’s global, multifaceted mission, but entails large expenditures in equipment acquisition, integration, and training. It is important to understand the trade-offs that the USAF must make in assessing the value of specific CNS/ATM capabilities. In this paper, we describe a model-driven analysis to assess operational impacts related to CNS/ATM capability. The analysis accounts for planned USAF CNS/ATM capabilities by aircraft type vis-a-vis airspace regulations and operational restrictions that are expected to be encountered in specific geographic regions. Two layers of interactions are investigated: first, within the USAF enterprise: between the Combat Air Forces (...