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Requirements Focus Group (RFG)


Overview:




The Requirements Focus Group (RFG) is a International group consisting of members from the FAA, RTCA, Eurocontrol, EUROCAE, and other interested parties.  The RFG is operating as a joint RTCA/EUROCAE activity.  The primary object of the RFG is to internationally harmonize operational concepts and minimum safety and performance requirements for ground surveillance (GS) and aircraft surveillance (AS) applications.  These GS and AS applications are defined in Package 1 which lists initial applications to be implemented based on the Principles of Operation for Airborne Separation Assistance Systems (PO-ASAS).  To accomplish these objectives, the RFG will produce three (3) documents for each application.

 

This document suite produced by the RFG for each application will consist of an Operational Services and Environment Description (OSED), a Safety and Performance Requirements (SPR) specification, and an Interoperability specification (INTEROP).  The OSEDs will be developed by the Application Description (AD) subgroup, while the SPRs are developed by the SPR subgroup.  (Both subgroups will contribute on to the Interoperability specification.)

The RFG activities are directly related to RTCA, EUROCAE and Eurocontrol ADS-B work activities.  Much of the work done on the applications specified in the Aircraft Surveillance Applications (ASA)  MASPS will be used as a starting point for the OSEDs and SPRs developed by the RFG.  Further, the documents that have been delivered by the RFG have been published by RTCA/EUROCAE and will eventually be the basis for a joint revision of the ASA MASPS (RTCA/DO-289).

For more information about the RFG. visit the official RFG web site hosted by Eurocontrol, or contact Stuart Searight or Jörg Steinleitner

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

To date, the RTCA/EUROCAE Requirements Focus Group has produced the complete specifications of the following applications.  These documents have been published by RTCA and EUROCAE under their respective document numbers and titles given below.  Please contact RTCA or EUROCAE for the purchase of these specifications.

 

Document Identifier Description / Title
RTCA/DO-303 and EUROCAE ED-126 Safety, Performance and Interoperability Requirements Document for the ADS-B Non-Radar-Airspace (ADS-B NRA) Application
RTCA/DO-312 and EUROCAE ED-159 Safety, Performance and Interoperability Requirements Document for the In-Trail Procedure in Oceanic Airspace (ATSA-ITP) Application
RTCA/DO-314 and EUROCAE ED-160 Safety, Performance and Interoperability Requirements Document for the Enhanced Visual Separation on Approach (ATSA-VSA) Application


 

RFG Meetings:

# Date/Time Location

Agenda, Minutes and
Working Papers

       
20 11 - 15 May 2009 United Airlines Operational Center
Elk Grove Illinois near Chicago
 
19 23 - 27 February 2009 Eurocontrol Headquarters
Brussels, Belgium
 
18 17 - 21 November 2008 Casa dell Aviatore
Rome, Italy
 
17 22 - 26 September 2008 RTCA Offices
Washington DC
 
16 24 - 27 June 2008 Honeywell International Offices
Redmond, Washington
 
15 8 - 11 April 2008 Eurocontrol Headquarters
Brussels, Belgium
 
14 22 - 25 January 2008 Hosted by Rockwell Collins
Melbourne, Florida
 
13 16 - 19 October 2007 DSNA
Toulouse, France
 
12 10 - 13 July 2007 Hosted by Volpe near MIT
Boston, Massachusetts
 
11 17 - 20 April 2007 NLR Facilities
Amsterdam, Netherlands
 
10 29 January - 2 February 2007 Eurocontrol Headquarters
Brussels, Belgium
 
9 25 - 29 September 2006 RTCA Offices
Washington DC
 
8 12 - 16 June 2006 RTCA Offices
Washington DC
 
  20 - 23 March 2006 Eurocontrol Headquarters
Brussels, Belgium
 
  17 - 19 January 2006 RTCA Offices
Washington DC
 
  5 - 7 December 2005 Interoperability Requirements Subgroup meeting
with RTCA SC-186 WG-4 STP Subgroup
RTCA SC-186 Plenary, 8 Dec 2005
RTCA Offices, Washington DC
 
7 10 - 13 October 2005 AD and SPR Subgroups 10 - 12
RFG7 Plenary, 13 Oct 2005
Eurocontrol, Brussels, Belgium
 
  20 - 22 September 2005 Interoperability Requirements Subgroup meeting
with RTCA SC-186 WG-4 STP Subgroup
RTCA Offices, Washington DC
 
6 11 - 14 July 2005 Malmo, Sweden  
5 7 - 10 February, 2005 DoubleTree Hotel,
Miami, Florida
 
  18 - 21 October, 2004 Eurocontrol Headquarters
Brussels, Belgium
 
4 21 - 24 June, 2004 STNA,
Toulouse, France
 
  29 March - 2 April, 2004 AD and SPR subgroup meetings
Mitre/CAASD, McLean Virginia
 
3 3 - 4 December, 2003 RTCA Offices
Washington DC
 
2 11 - 12 June 2003 Eurocontrol Headquarters
Brussels, Belgium
 
1 1 April 2003 Eurocontrol Headquarters
Brussels, Belgium
 
                                           * = location tentative

 


ADS-B surveillance in non-radar areas (Radar-like Services):  One of the first applications being worked on by the subgroups working on the OSED and SPR documents will be ADS-B in non-radar areas (ADS-B-NRA), or radar-like services (RLS) as it is commonly referred to in the United States.  The work on this application will be largely based on existing documentation of operational concepts and hazard analyses done for the certification of equipment and operations in both Alaska as part of the Capstone project, and Australia.  Some of the documents on which this RFG work will be based are made available through the following table.

Click here to download a 10.3 MB ZIP file containing all of the documents found below.
Click here to download a 8.9 MB ZIP file containing the 7 Capstone documents found below.
Click here to download a 1.5 MB ZIP file containing the 2 ICAO documents found below.

Capstone Documents
Document Description Filename (*.pdf)
FAA Operational Safety Assessment for ADS-B which includes Operational Services and Environment Definition (OSED), Operational Hazard Assessment (OHA), and Allocation of Safety Objectives and Requirements (ASOR) for the "use of ADS-B and TIS-B in the context of surveillance services and situational awareness." ADS-B Operational Safety Assessment 2001-09-27
   
FAA findings and recommended safety requirements from the ADS-B preliminary hazard analysis.  This Preliminary Hazard Analysis (PHA) was "conducted using the FAA System Safety Management Program and the methodology defined in the FAA System Safety Handbook."  The PHA was conducted "to identify safety related risks and develop controls to either eliminate or mitigate those risks to an acceptable level for ADS-B being integrated into the NAS out to the year 2015." ADS-B PHA Vol 1 2001-09-20
Volume II of the PHA for ADS-B integration into the NAS contains hazard analysis tables supporting the work and conclusions documented in volume 1. ADS-B PHA Vol 2 2001-09-20
   
Capstone Test and Evaluation Master Plan (TEMP) for ADS-B Radar-Like Services.  This document "outlines the activities for the use of the Capstone ADS-B system for radar-like services for airspace in and around Bethel, Alaska.  These activities are based on a transition from aircraft supplemental VFR use of  Capstone avionics to authorizing ATC use of ADS-B in applying procedures for separation, sequencing,  and other VFR & IFR radar-like services. Radar Like Services -TEMP- 2001-01-30
   
Volume 1 of The Capstone System Safety Engineering Report, prepared by the Capstone System Safety Working Group.  Volume 1 contains the Preliminary Hazard Analysis conducted for Capstone ADS-B Radar-like services using methodologies based on MIL-STD-882D.  "The PHA was conducted to identify potential accident scenarios that are associated with Capstone providing ADS-B services."  Capstone I PHA Vol 1 2000-12-02
Volume 2 of The Capstone System Safety Engineering Report contains matrix of scenarios on which the end-to-end system PHA found in Volume 1 was based. Capstone I PHA Vol 2 2000-12-02
Volume 3 of The Capstone System Safety Engineering Report lists recommended precautions, controls, and mitigations resulting from the PHA found in volume 1. Capstone I PHA Vol 3 2000-12-02
   
Capstone Program Office status report and initial findings for the Capstone Phase II RNAV Preliminary Hazard Analysis (PHA).  This work was based on the Capstone PHA Phase I Core Bethel work which is available in three volumes above. Capstone Prelim Hazard Analysis Status 2003-04-11
   
ICAO Documents
Document Description Filename (*.pdf)
Generic design safety case for the operational use of ADS-B in non-radar airspace prepared by the ICAO Separation and Airspace Safety Panel.  "The aim of this safety case is to identify and document generic safety requirements associated with the operational use by air traffic control of a surveillance system based on ADS-B in non-radar airspace. ADS-B in NRA Safety Case
Draft amendments to  PANS ATM doc 4444 to include provisions for ADS-B separation minima and services, prepared for the ICAO Separation and Airspace Safety Panel November 2003 meeting. PANS ATM Doc 4444 proposed changes
   

 


 

Last updated: 03/19/2009
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