US-Europe provide snapshot of progress on joint aviation modernisation efforts

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, SESAR Joint Undertaking and SESAR Deployment Manager have together published a summary of the current state of progress towards achieving the necessary level of harmonisation and global interoperability between the NextGen and SESAR modernisation initiatives.

Now in its third edition, the State of Harmonisation publication reflects the current and planned collaboration efforts by the U.S. and the EU to harmonise and secure the modernisation of ATM, not just across the Atlantic but globally in support of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Global Air Navigation Plan (GANP) and its Aviation System Block Upgrade (ASBU) programme.

Both NextGen and SESAR recognise the need to integrate the air and ground components of their respective ATM systems. This requires greater efficiency in the planning and execution of flight trajectories and the seamless and timely sharing of accurate information. The U.S.-EU harmonisation work aims to ensure that modernisation in air navigation systems worldwide supports a high-performing aviation system over time, based on global cooperation leading to seamless operations and safe and efficient practices for the airspace users and the travelling public.

NextGen and SESAR have together made significant progress in several critical areas since the publication of the first edition of the State of Harmonisation in 2014 and second edition in 2016. This third edition provides an update on each of these areas and reflects the broadening scope of the Memorandum of Cooperation, which was expanded in December 2017 to include all aspects of the ATM modernisation lifecycle, from planning to development and deployment.