Over the past year we have published several posts dealing with SESAR in general and the SESAR concept of operations in particular. Some of those posts voiced concerns and uncertainties. In an exclusive interview with Michael Standar, SJU Chief Air Traffic Management, published here in May 2010, we attempted to answer the concerns… to some extent anyway. In SESAR Magazine Issue 3, published in July 2010, Michael now answers three short questions on the Concept of Operations. We bring you the full text as it appeared in SESAR Magazine in the hope of making the ConOps picture a bit clearer.
Michael, where are we today with the SESAR Concept of
Operations (ConOps)?
The first thing to remember is that the SESAR ConOps was set out in the SESAR Definition Phase. In the SJU ConOps storyboard it was structured into three steps to realize the paradigm shift necessary to modernize the European ATM system. In step 1, we move from the current day to time-based operations, focused on better use of existing technology and optimizing communication between ground and airborne equipment. Step 2 introduces trajectory based operations through the 4D trajectory. As new technology is involved, international standardization bodies and ICAO will be engaged. The third and final step will be a fully integrated performance based ATM System supported by System Wide Information Management, SWIM – the intranet of the air. These three steps are not sequential but start in parallel, aiming at gaining early benefits for the air transport sector.
At the moment the ConOps is following the original plan designed in the Definition Phase. Our transversal project, work package (WP) B4.2 together with the operational WPs 4, 5, 6 and 7 are developing a clear operational roadmap per step with the goal of identifying dependant projects. We need to take on board input from the experience we gain in the work programme. This first step of the storyboard approach will lead to validation & verification results that together with the evolving needs of the ATM environment will lead to a concept update.
What are the most important features of the SESAR ConOps?
For me, there are two main cornerstones in our concept. First, all air transport actors will in the end share all relevant information and second, the 4D trajectory will become a reality. The connection and usage of airborne capabilities in daily ATC operations will change our way of working. This will require close cooperation between National Supervisory Authorities, NSA’s, and airspace users in order to determine both the safety and business benefits of the new capabilities early on. The validation part of SESAR is very important as it will deal with the safety and business aspects, validating as close as
possible to real life operations in a live environment whether airborne or ground based.
What are the next steps?
We are currently working on a concrete validation & verification roadmap for step 1 with an outlook for steps 2 and 3. By concrete we mean a clear picture of the operational and technical content of step 1 of SESAR. This will also allow us to evaluate the business benefits from all ATM partners’ perspective. It is truly an exercise with close cooperation of all members. The outcome will be a list of projects which are dependent on one another which will contribute to achieving time based operations, step 1, and a plan for how and when the projects content will be validated. We will also determine which validation sites and prototypes will be used, which projects and companies/organizations will be involved. We are not operating in isolation and will connect the validation sites with the ‘real’ world, such as airport interfaces.