Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - PJ18 4DTM (4D Trajectory Management)

Teaser

Project PJ18 4DTM develops an innovative way of allowing the different Air Traffic Management (ATM) actors to have a unique and coherent view of the planned flight trajectory, guaranteeing that air navigation service providers, airport operators, airlines and the aeronautical...

Summary

Project PJ18 4DTM develops an innovative way of allowing the different Air Traffic Management (ATM) actors to have a unique and coherent view of the planned flight trajectory, guaranteeing that air navigation service providers, airport operators, airlines and the aeronautical community at large share a single vision that is harmonized and updated with the movements of both civil and military aircraft throughout Europe. It also allows traffic controllers to have more precise information for planning operations and managing traffic more smoothly.
This allows the different ATM actors to have a better knowledge of the flight intention so they can anticipate potential issues, correct deviations and better use their resources to reduce costs, increase safety, reduce CO2 emissions and better react to any unexpected issue the flight may have.
This is aligned with Trajectory Based Operations (TBO, which is used on flight efficiency, predictability, environment and capacity) concept, a broader international initiative where the projects contribute to its validation.
The project will also develop new tools to improve the availability consistency, quality and exchange of aeronautical and meteorological information that is both harmonized and top-quality, entailing a significant leap forward in improving the management of aviation operations.
The project is organized in several areas called Solutions, attending different aspects, like type of traffic, set of actors exchanging information or information domain.
The project works to support the development of the 18-01a Mission Trajectory (MT) optimised airspace user operations and aims at improving the civil military coordination in regard to the flight planning and flight plan format, the Operation Air Traffic flight plan (iOAT FPL). It will also work to improve ground air communication for the provision of Air Traffic Services, under 18-01b MT in Trajectory Based Operation (TBO).
18-02a TBO is an ATM Solution aiming to reach initial maturity and intermediate maturity for Air-Ground (A/G) exchanges. 18-02a will therefore concentrate on Reference Business Trajectory (RBT) management and the last phase of Shared Business Trajectory (SBT), once flight plan filing has occurred.
Solution 18-02b FO IOP purpose is to share among all stakeholders a common flight plan and use it to share a common view of the flight, enabling greater flexibility in the interactions of controllers across ANSP’s (Air Navigation Service Provider).
Solution 18-02c addresses the transition from SBT to RBT. While the full implementation of the business trajectory concept is addressed by TBO Solution, the eFPL supporting SBT transition to RBT Solution will address intermediate steps and building blocks taking into account SESAR 1 validation results on the Extended Flight Plan and ICAO FF-ICE increment 1 developments in progress.
Providing new or enhanced aeronautical (AIM) and meteorological (MET) information will contribute to improved situation awareness along a flight trajectory. These improvements are addressed by Solution 18-04a for AIM and Solution 18-04b for MET. The activities of the project focus on improving the quality, consistency of the information exchange. Solution 18-04c focuses on the on-board use of this information with the objective to improve the efficiency of flight operations.
Objective of Solutions 18-06a and 18-06b is to support TBO through the improvement of trajectory predictions for ATC and NM by taking into account all relevant and available data sources (legacy or not) such as radar information, Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Contract (ADS-C), Extended Projected Profile (EPP), four dimension (4D) Extended Flight Plan issued by the airspace user or Planned ATC constraints

Work performed

18-01a has delivered final Technical Specification (TS) for intermediate maturity, developed prototypes and supported validation exercise for intermediate maturity. It has also started to develop TS for final maturity.
18-01b delivered the functional requirements of the concept in its initial maturity. Development of prototypes started and it is almost complete.
18-02a has delivered its initial Operational Service and Environment Definition (OSED) for initial maturity of the concept, looking at the update and revision of an aircraft trajectory in execution phase of the flight, supported by 2 Expert Groups to investigate the potential for using datalink in TBO. Related Validation Report (VALR) and initial Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) were delivered.
In support of intermediate maturity of the concept, the production of OSED started and VALP and prototypes developments were initiated.
18-02b FO IOP has defined the operational and technical requirements for the first IOP exercise, in support of final maturity of the concept, focusing on basic functionalities of ENRoute to ENRoute flight data exchanges. In parallel, development of the IOP software and platform by industry started and some intermediate testing were already achieved. VALP for the first exercise was delivered.
18-02c has delivered the requirements corresponding to the final maturity of the concept, developed prototypes and platforms used for the first iteration of expected validation exercises. Development of VALP and second iteration of the exercise started.
18-04a&b have finalised coordination with other SESAR 2020 Solutions to identify new or improved AIM and MET services/capabilities. Prototype development has reached a mature stage. TS and TVALP production has progressed according to the internal milestones.
18-04c has finalised use cases development for integrating AIM and MET information into the cockpit of the aircraft. Prototype, validation platform development have entered the last phase before validation exercises. Production of the deliverables TS and TVALP have progressed according to the internal milestones.
Solutions 18-06a and 18-06b started to build innovative solutions to improve the Trajectory Predictors. They delivered the TS and VALP for the intermediate (for 18-06b) and final maturity (for 18-06a) of the improvements describing how ground systems trajectories shall use the new data from the aircraft to enhance ground trajectories. It also started to develop the prototypes and platforms

Final results

18-01 will improve and stabilise the military flight planning activities for individual flights including airspace management like the use of ARES (reserved airspaces) and additionally improving the network manager performance. It will also improve ground systems by advance use of A/G communication with military flights.
18.02 will provide a global strategy from operational and technical perspective of the TBO, by consolidating and harmonize all flight plan information among ATM stakeholders, improving the efficiency in planning and execution phases of the flights.
18-04 aims to improve the AIM and MET information exchange, which eventually will achieve enhanced situation awareness for all stakeholders of trajectory-based operations. Positive impact on safety, flight efficiency and predictability could be envisaged. At the end of Wave 1, the other SESAR 2020 ATM solutions to which 18-04 supports will be provided with improved AIM or MET information provision that would facilitate better decision-making in their operational scenarios.
18-06 expects to improve the accuracy of the trajectory of the flights enhancing the procedures and tools in the ground operations in ATM