Technical feasibility and impacts of reducing standard separation minima in final approach

The Single European Sky ATM Research program (SESAR2020 [1]) project for EnhAnced Runway Throughput (EARTH), is focused on developing and validating SESAR solutions to Increase Runway Throughput. In particular, the project addresses the reduction of the Minimum Radar Separation (MRS) to 2.0NM. The reduction of MRS minima down to 2.0NM on final approach is subject to Required Surveillance Performance (RSP) and is constrained by factors such as satisfying Runway Occupancy Time (ROT). The project studies different technical and operational options to identify cost benefit, technical and performance requirements covering safety, capacity, efficiency, resilience, environment and noise, access and equity as well as human performance to facilitate deployment decisions. In this paper we review the need for reducing separation minima on final approach, we provide technical study results covering technology readiness to cope with the operational requirements and the required surveillance performance, we propose a set of Required Surveillance Performance and we provide the results of a first validation of the concept using real time simulation, we conclude with some recommendation on future steps to evaluate the concept.