Preparing for transition — Accommodation of mixed data communication equipage for a harmonized future

As Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) technologies advance to achieve greater efficiency, airspace user requirements become more complex - Transition from traditional voice/nav aid/radar to include data link/performance-based navigation/automatic dependent surveillance - These equate to more advanced aircraft equipage - There is also more integration between the aircraft avionics and the ground system flight data processing systems, resulting in more exacting requirements Data formats and displays Flight plan and uplink message creation and loading Downlink information capability Different airspaces also employ different technology and procedures Different airframes and avionics vendors have variations due to age of aircraft, cockpit design philosophies, aircraft capabilities, etc.