Aeronautics Activity Report 2014

Chairman: Terry Dunford, UK Civil Aviation Authority

Responsible for standardisation related to the aeronautical sector, specifically for the development of mandated European Standards (ENs) to enable conformance with the Single European Sky’s (SES) Interoperability Regulation 

The European Commission (EC) is restructuring the SES and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) regulations. The current draft EASA regulation does not provide a defined role for the European Standards Organisations and Community Specifications (CSs) that were mandated under the SES regulations. ETSI accepted EC Mandate M/524 in support of the SES Air Traffic Management (ATM) Master Plan in April 2013 and began planning the required CSs. In the light of the proposed legislative changes, this work was discontinued in 2014 and the activities of ETSI’s Aeronautics committee (TC AERO) were suspended, pending further clarification of the situation. 

The committee continues, however, to co-operate with ETSI’s Electromagnetic and Radio Spectrum Matters committee (TC ERM) in a Joint Task Force, JTFEA, on matters concerning Harmonised Standards needed under the Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment (R&TTE) Directive for ATM equipment. 

In 2014 the JTFEA continued its longstanding support of EC Mandate M/405, upgrading the ENs for the Data Link Services system. The Task Force completed its work on the ground-based VHF Digital Link (VDL) Mode 4 radio transceivers for the aeronautical mobile service. Work on Mode 2 was expected to be finalised early in 2015. Publication of the revised standards was scheduled for before the end of 2015. 

A new Part 5 on multilateration equipment was being added to the EN on the Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control System. Part 5 has two sub-parts, covering respectively receivers and interrogators, and reference and vehicle transmitters.

The new Radio Equipment Directive was scheduled to replace the R&TTE Directive in 2016. JTFEA expected to receive a new mandate in 2015 for standardisation to support communications, navigation and surveillance compliance.