The FAA and Mitre Corp. have awarded WSI a contract to provide datalink weather information for use in the upcoming East Coast evaluation of automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) technology.

Designed to provide aircraft position reports and weather data to aircraft in flight, ADS-B technology is considered by some within the FAA to be a cornerstone of airspace modernization (see page 68). One hundred aircraft are earmarked to participate in the just-launched evaluation in an area extending from Florida to New Jersey. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is in the process of installing ADS-B avionics in its fleet of training aircraft. Meanwhile, the 14 ADS-B ground stations involved in the tests are now operational.