An Airborne Traffic Situation Display System

An airborne traffic situation display system which could be used as an adjunct to the evolving National Airspace System/Automatic Radar Control Terminal System (NAS/ARTS) is described. In the proposed system, a contemporary realization of an old concept, the NAS/ARTS data are broadcast. A small digital computer in an aircraft then selects from the message stream the data on its own aircraft, nearby aircraft, and a local map. These data, plus aircraft heading data from a directional gyro, are used to generate a situation display that can be aircraftcentered and heading-oriented. Accepted for the Air Force Joseph R. Waterman, Lt. Col., USAF Chief, Lincoln Laboratory Project Office