Enabling a modernized NAS ATM infrastructure in support of trajectory based operations

The concept of Trajectory-Based Operations (TBO) is a cornerstone of the FAA NextGen CONOPS and the mid-term concepts of Trajectory Operations (TOps) will provide the path to TBO's far-term capabilities. These concepts of operation and use require a unified approach to bring both CNS and ATM capabilities together into effective methods and approaches for managing National Airspace System (NAS) throughput using individual 4D Trajectories across each phase of the trajectory lifecycle. Enabling of TOps/TBO requires interactive and integrated decisions and control actions spanning each time horizon to include Capacity Management, Flow Contingency Management, and Trajectory Management. This implies greater data access and common situational awareness than presently available in the highly probabilistic models of current NAS non-critical systems and deterministic models of critical systems. The FAA can accelerate the opportunities promised by Next Gen by providing a modern infrastructure, suitable to enabling TBO. A critical requirement is the Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP) enabling NAS stakeholder access and common situational awareness of NAS capacity and congestion realities, both present and predicted states. This system, a Common Trajectory Planning Resource (CTPR), should provide operators a common interface to trial plan potential trajectories against NAS constraints via automation with operator's NextGen flight planning and tracking systems. CTPR should also monitor and provide updates on the traffic flow impacts to filed flights and proposed trajectories allowing operators to identify and choose the most optimum solutions available based on their own unique business model and operations. Trajectories themselves, embodied in flight plans, represent an intersection of NAS stakeholder and ANSP interests. These interests must be brought into alignment for the realization of TBO benefits. Providing airspace users with access to a new, Common Trajectory Planning Resource model is a key to unlocking TOps/TBO benefits. The highest level of NAS benefits will accrue when optimization is left in the hands of the operators, and market forces are allowed to reward positive behavior. This empowerment of operators by the ANSP as well as common visibility among all parties also offers the opportunity for satisfaction of each operator's own business objectives and will accommodate the widest diversity of business rules and plans among an increasingly heterogeneous and dynamic community of operators.