The FAA is seeking industry input on technology capable of detecting and locating radio frequency interference across the National Airspace System. According to an FAA notice, the agency will meet with potential vendors Oct. 13-15 to explore systems that could monitor aviation frequencies across airport, terminal and en route environments. The proposed capability would cover domestic and oceanic operations, including ground-based and airborne systems.
Nationwide Monitoring
The FAA is interested in technology that could use geographically distributed sensors to detect interference and transmit information to a centralized system for analysis. The agency is evaluating technologies at various stages of development and considering whether to purchase the proposed capability as a service.
“Solutions should be capable of supporting scalable deployment across distributed sensor networks while providing centralized data aggregation, analysis, and visualization,” the FAA said in its announcement.
Addressing Detection Gaps
The initiative comes as concerns have grown over interference affecting aviation communications and navigation. Although the FAA began seeking industry input before the release of a recent GAO report, the proposed system addresses several of the monitoring gaps identified by federal investigators. The GAO found that the agency lacked continuous monitoring capabilities for certain spectrum-related threats and generally relied on investigating incidents after they were reported.
The event to come in October will include technical presentations and discussions over potential approaches to acquisition. Portions of the event will be classified, and selected vendors may participate in individual meetings. The FAA has not announced a deployment schedule, and the notice does not specify exactly who the proposed system would provide alerts to.
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