MITRE Receives FAA's Top Research Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

BEDFORD, Mass., and MCLEAN, Va., March 10, 2009 — The MITRE Corporation's Center for Advanced Aviation System Development's (CAASD) Universal Access Transceiver (UAT) Technology Design Team has received the Federal Aviation Administration's 2008 Excellence in Aviation Research Award. The prestigious award is given annually to individuals and/or institutions outside the FAA whose research contributions have improved the safety and efficiency of the national airspace system.

In development at MITRE since 1995, the UAT is a digital radio system that significantly increases situational awareness for smaller aircraft and aircraft operating in the lower altitudes of the national airspace. The technology supports multiple broadcast data services crucial to flight safety, including the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B). The ADS-B technology communicates an aircraft's position data once per second to others in the air and on the ground—making it possible for all aircraft to virtually see where they are relative to other planes and ground vehicles. The UAT also supports the transmission of position data as seen by radar (Traffic Information Service-Broadcast) and Flight Information Service-Broadcast, which includes graphical weather information. Combining these key services provides operators with a comprehensive set of aviation data and reduces overall equipment and cost.

"Keeping the airspace safe is critical, particularly with the greater diversity of airspace users, such as the Airbus A380 and unmanned aircraft systems, and future increase in air traffic operations," said Dr. Agam Sinha, senior vice president and general manager of CAASD, a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) MITRE operates for the FAA. "The UAT provides a critical part of the solution toward this goal."

The FAA recognized the team for inventing, prototyping, implementing, and standardizing the innovative UAT technology. Spanning 13 years—a short amount of time to go from concept to accepted world-wide standard—many people across MITRE played a role in UAT's success, including members from CAASD and the company's Department of Defense-sponsored Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence FFRDC. Several additional contributions of the group's research were also cited, the recent UAT Beacon Radio among them. A miniaturized UAT, the Beacon Radio is roughly the size of two decks of cards, portable, and battery-powered, making it ideal for aircraft without engine-driven electrical systems. The device has potential benefits for emergency management operations, search and rescue missions, and meeting the requirements of smaller planes unable to accommodate a full-size UAT system. The UAT Beacon Radio technology may also enhance cooperative surveillance among non-traditional airspace users, such as small unmanned aircraft systems, reusable space vehicles, and airport surface vehicles.

The team's research played an important role in the success of the FAA's Alaska Capstone Program, established to increase airspace safety in the aviation-dependent state where radar is limited and weather and terrain pose a danger to aircraft. Pilots and controllers experienced significant safety and operational benefits when the FAA equipped more than 200 of the state's air taxis with UAT technology via UPS Aviation Technologies (now Garmin). University of Alaska studies have shown a 47% improvement in air safety since implementing Capstone technology. Additionally, several flight schools have equipped training aircraft with UAT avionics to improve student safety and introduce students to the latest technologies.

The MITRE Corporation (www.mitre.org) is a not-for-profit national resource that provides systems engineering, research and development, and information technology support to the government. It operates federally funded research and development centers for the Department of Defense, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Veterans Affairs, with principal locations in Bedford, Mass., and McLean, Va.

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