NEWTOWN, Conn. - The European Aviation Safety Agency has pushed back the deadline for its requirement that all aircraft operating in European airspace be Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) Out capable.
Originally, the Agency had mandated compliance on all new aircraft by January 2015 and on all old aircraft by December 2017. Those deadlines have been pushed to June 2016 and June 2020, respectively. This brings the European mandate more in line with the United States FAA requirement, which has a deadline of January 2020 fleetwide.
ADS-B Out works with an aircraft's GPS system to constantly broadcast the aircraft's exact position, which enhances safety in heavily trafficked airspace. Though ADS-B In allows an aircraft to directly receive and interpret these broadcasts, it is not yet required by either the FAA or the EASA. Instead, that information must be collected and relayed via air traffic management resources, such as control towers.
There is a selection of ADS-B Out-capable avionics systems available on the aftermarket, with stand-alone modifications starting at less than $5,000.