• What is the National Airspace System?
• What is the National Airspace System Architecture 6?
• Where does the data for the National Airspace System Architecture 6 originate and how current is it?
• What are the differences between the “Views” listed in the left-hand navigation bar?
• Where can one obtain more information about this site?
• What is the Next Generation Air Transportation System and how does it relate to NAS 6?
• How does this NAS 6 site relate to the NAS Enterprise Architecture?
• What are Service Roadmaps and how do they relate to NAS 6?
• What are Infrastructure Roadmaps and how do they relate to National Airspace System Architecture 6?
• What are Operational Improvements and how do they related to NAS 6 Service Roadmaps?
• What is the NextGen Implementation Plan?

The National Airspace System (NAS) is the most complex aviation system in the world-consisting of thousands of people, procedures, facilities, and pieces of equipment-that enables safe and expeditious air travel in the United States and over large portions of the world's oceans.

The NAS requires approximately 14,500 air traffic controllers, 4,500 aviation safety inspectors, and 5,800 technicians to operate and maintain services. It has more than 19,000 airports and 600 air traffic control facilities. In all, there are 41,000 NAS operational facilities. In addition, there are over 71,000 pieces of equipment, ranging from radar systems to communication relay stations.

On average, about 50,000 flights use NAS services each day.

The National Airspace System (NAS) Architecture 6 (NAS 6) is an update to NAS Architecture 5. NAS 6 represents a continuation of FAA's multiyear framework to measure progress in modernizing the NAS. NAS 6 incorporates many of the different agency plans and programs as well as reflects changes in the FAA's budget and FAA Joint Resources Council decisions. Updates in NAS 6 also reflect changes in the Joint FAA/Industry concept of operations, and FAA Administrator goals and strategies that appear in the FAA Flight Plan.

Specifically, the NAS Architecture overall represents the proposed execution of several key modernization plans: the FAA's Flight Plan; the NAS Operational Evolution Plan, which has been expanded into the NAS Operational Evolution Partnership; the NAS Capital Investment Plan; and the National Aviation Research Plan. NAS 6 is a comprehensive, multiyear plan for improving the NAS and ultimately reflecting the plans for the Next Generation Air Transportation System, or the NextGen, to be fully operational in the year 2025. The Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO) is coordinating the NextGen, and NAS 6 will be aligned with NextGen planning.

NAS 6 includes a series of Operational Improvements, or OIs, to assist users and manufacturers in planning their operations and investments. The OIs in NAS 6 will be updated in line with the plans for development of the NextGen.

The data comes from various FAA planning documents, including the annual NAS Capital Investment Plan, the annual National Aviation Research Plan, Air Traffic Organization Executive Council decisions, and FAA Joint Resources Council Records of Decision. Additionally, some data comes from the individual Integrated Product Teams. The data is entered into NAS 6 as expeditiously as possible after being received.

The Executive Views show the evolution of major FAA investments/programs in today's National Airspace System (NAS) services and infrastructures to meet future demand. The roadmaps lay out the strategic activities (service delivery and infrastructure) to improve NAS operations and move toward the NextGen vision. The roadmaps are updated as research and analyses more clearly define the NAS evolution.

The Financial Views show how the FAA funds its various programs and activities. The Program Funding Profile shows how the National Airspace Architecture budget (F&E, R&D, O&M, and AIP) flows from Programs to Projects to Segments and finally to Mechanisms. The Planned F&E (CIP) Functional Area Profile shows how funding is split between various program functional areas, including Automation, Communication, Surveillance, Navigation, and Weather. The Planned F&E (CIP) Service Unit Profile shows how funding is split between FAA Service Units.

The Location Views allow users to locate an FAA facility by entering part of its name or location.

The Mechanism View allows users to search for a Mechanism by either a "Text Search" or "Hierarchy Search".

The Service View allows users to review Service Groups, Services, Capabilities, and Operational Improvements.

The Reference and Tutorial Section contains additional information on this site and its use. For further information, use the Comment Link at the top of any NAS page.

To ultimately meet U.S. air travel demands by 2025, the Congress set up a Joint Program Development Office (JPDO) to manage a multi agency effort to create the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). The NextGen initiative is to transform the U.S. air transportation system by 2025 into a more flexible, resilient, scalable, adaptive, and highly automated system able to meet up to two to three times current air travel demand

NAS 6 records the programmatic information being planned to accomplish the NextGen initiative. Additionally, the Service Roadmaps in NAS 6 are being harmonized with the NextGen Operational Improvements being derived from the NextGen Concept of Operations (CONOPS).

See www.jpdo.gov for more information about the NextGen initiative.

NAS 6 is a repository of information supporting the NAS Enterprise Architecture (NASEA). NAS 6 provides descriptions, schedules, and funding data for all projects in the current NAS Capital Investment Plan out to the year 2025, in some cases. NAS 6 also includes in the Simplified NAS chart, which identifies "as is" FAA facilities and their respective fielded systems and subsystems. In addition, NAS 6 includes the NAS Infrastructure Roadmaps dealing with the Automation, Communication, Navigation, Surveillance, and Weather domains. Thus, NAS 6 is a foundation for developing the NASEA.

The Service Roadmaps are multiyear views of the planned service improvements. This view consists of a structured graphic for the roadmap accompanied by a set of assumptions and a list of key decisions. The roadmaps ultimately lead to the NextGen in 2025.

The NAS Service Roadmaps include: Initiate Trajectory Based Operations, Increase Arrivals/Departures at High Density Airports, Increase Flexibility in the Terminal Environment, Improve Collaborative ATM, Reduce Weather Impact, Increase Safety, Security, and Environmental Performance (Safety, Security, Environment), Transform Facilities.

NAS Enterprise Architecture (NASEA) Infrastructure Roadmaps are multiyear views of planned and forecasted Infrastructure improvements including new procurements and service life extension or technology refresh. This view contains programmatic and schedule information that defines the enabling infrastructure (i.e., people, systems, facilities, and support activities) to deliver desired aviation services to the aviation community and aviation services providers. This product consists of a structured graphic for the roadmap accompanied by a set of assumptions and a list of key decisions.

NASEA Infrastructure Roadmaps are approved by the FAA Joint Resources Council (JRC) for the following domains:  Aircraft, Air-Ground, Airspace and Procedures, Automation, Communication, Enterprise Services, Facility, Human Systems Integration, Information Systems Security, Navigation, Safety (Roadmap deferred), Surveillance, and Weather.

The Aircraft Roadmap shows relationships of key avionics policy, strategy and equipage decisions to other NAS infrastructure roadmaps.  For example, mandatory equipage in selected airspace would require users to invest in new avionics. The avionics infrastructure roadmap depicts what the avionics community and the FAA must accomplish to support new operational requirements and system performance.

The Safety roadmap development has been deferred to 2010 Roadmap.

The FAA and the other NextGen agencies have focused on implementing operational improvements to enhance air traffic operational capabilities.  FAA has leveraged research and development investments to accelerate targeted implementations and development of capabilities to provide the greatest benefits.   Operational Improvements are managed in capability solution sets that are tracked on the Service Roadmaps.

Wedge Report View.

The Nextgen Implementation Plan is the FAA's plan for implementing the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). The NextGen Implementation Plan provides a multi-agency, planning guide coordinated through the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO) implementing the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen).  ”. The partnership focuses specifically on the FAA and agency capabilities contributed to the NextGen. The Plan has cross-agency and user community support and has a monitoring process in place.

The NextGen Implementation Plan will provide continuity between “AS IS” and “TO BE” National Airspace System architectures.  FAA released an update to its NextGen Implementation Plan on January 30, 2009. With its internal NextGen planning well defined, the agency will now focus on developing parallel commitments with the aviation community, particularly on avionics equipage. To support this, RTCA, an industry association, will sponsor a NextGen Implementation Task Force, which will offer recommendations on how to get the most benefits from the NextGen mid-term operational capabilities. The Plan provides a common point of understanding for the task force’s activities.

Additional information at:  http://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/nextgen/