Use of eram SWIM for NAS system enhancements

The future of information management within the air traffic community is enhanced through sharing of flight data objects, enabled by the System Wide Information Management (SWIM) initiative. SWIM provides the backbone for sharing information throughout the national airspace (NAS), which allows new and existing applications and decision support tools to take advantage of current and consistent data on the SWIM infrastructure, for users to achieve common situational awareness, and systems to make optimum use of the airspace while maintaining safe operations. SWIM-enabling existing and evolving applications and decision support tools lowers the FAA's long-term maintenance costs by transitioning from point-to-point legacy interfaces to use of SWIM for information sharing. The SWIM initiative is aligned with the principles of Service-oriented architecture (SOA). En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM) is operational in Salt Lake and Seattle centers and is proceeding through site deployment for the other 18 centers. One of the significant enhancements to the baseline ERAM is the addition of the first SWIM-enabled service, the Flight Information Service (FIS). The initial version of FIS provides for processing of Traffic Flow Management System (TFMS)-initiated pre-departure re-route amendments. Enhancements to the initial FIS design position it for use by other consumers for an overall life cycle cost savings. The potential uses of ERAM-provided SWIM services are numerous including modernization of existing legacy interfaces (such as Host-ATM Data Distribution System - HADDS and Flight Data Input/Output - FDIO), and the addition of new users as part of development of new applications. One potential new user, the Data Communications Air Traffic Control Facilities Notification (AFN) Accelerated Departure Clearance Service (DCL) involves several systems in achieving the end-to-end thread. FIS can accept and process updates from consumers and publish the existing ERAM flight data to authorized users, and address the specific needs of tower systems to automatically send accelerated departure clearances to aircraft. ERAM enhancements can also allow aircraft to log on as FANS aircraft, and then allow a ground station (Tower Data Link Services, TDLS) to establish controller pilot data link communication (CPDLC) sessions to exchange text from air traffic control (ATC) systems to the airplane's cockpit.