ACP-WGF31/WP-11
International Civil Aviation Organization
2014-09-24
WORKING PAPER
Aeronautical Communications Panel Working Group F Meeting 31
Seattle, Washington October 6-10, 2014
Agenda Item 8
Development of potential updates to ICAO WRC-15 Position
Proposed Modifications to the ICAO Position on WRC-15 AI 1.18
(Presented by John Mettrop)
SUMMARY
This paper proposes the adoption of a new ICAO position on WRC-15 agenda
item 1.18 to address the identified need for wingtip radars to help avoid
taxiing aircraft from colliding with ground obstructions.
ACTION
It is proposed that the ICAO position be amended to include a section on
WRC-15 agenda item 1.18.
1.
INTRODUCTION
1.1
World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15) agenda item.1.18 seeks a new
allocation to the radiolocation service in the frequency range 77.5 – 78 GHz that would form a contiguous
frequency range from 76-81 GHz allocated to the radiolocation service that can be used for high precision
automotive radar.
2.
DISCUSSION
2.1
The UK Civil Aviation Authority has been approached since the ICAO position was
established by a number of companies with respect to potential use of automotive radar on the wing tips
of aircraft to aid the pilot in avoid collisions whilst taxiing such as the Air France A380 collision with a
Delta regional jet at JFK (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5p1nZPAH1sA)
(4 pages)
533567715
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ACP WG-F/31 WP11
2.2
For it to be cost effective to use automotive radar on an aircraft to detect an obstruction
while taxiing that radar would have to be an of the shelf piece of equipment. Therefore any restriction
placed on the use of the automotive radar in the frequency band 77.5 – 78 GHz, as part of WRC-15
agenda item 1.18, would adversely affect the potential use of such radar for aircraft taxiing to detect
ground obstructions.
2.3
It would therefore be useful if any allocation made as a result of WRC-15 agenda item
1.18 to the radiolocation service were not limit in a way that precluded the use of future automotive radars
on aircraft in a taxiing scenario
3.
3.1
ACTION BY THE MEETING
The ACP WG F is invited to:


Remove agenda item 1.18 from the list of agenda items where there is expected to
be no impact on aeronautical systems in section 4 note 2 of the ICAO position
Adopt a position on WRC-15 agenda item 1.18 as detailed in the annex to this
document.
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ACP WG-F/31 WP11
ANNEX
WRC-15 agenda item 1.18
Agenda Item Title:
Allocation of the band 77.5 – 78 GHz to the radiolocartion service to support automotive shortrange high-resolution radar operations
Discussion:
As aircraft have got larger so the ability of the captain and co-pilot to accurately taxi an aircraft
around a busy airport has become more difficult and incidents of aircraft colliding with other
objects on the airport more common. A solution has been proposed that would use off the shelf
automotive radar located in the wing tips of aircraft to detect other ground object that might be in
the path of the taxiing aircraft.
WRC-15 agenda item 1.18 is seek an allocation to the radiolocation service at 77.5 – 78 GHz in
order to create a contiguous piece of spectrum from 76 to 81 GHz that could support high
resolution applications in the automotive industry. In order to ensure a cost effective solution for
aviation to the ground taxiing issue it is essential to maintain commonality between automotive
radars and those that can be fitted to aircraft.
As a result aviation would support an allocation to the radiolocation service at 77.5-78 GHz that
is not limited in a way that would preclude the use of such radar on taxiing aircraft noting that
such an application is not regarded as a safety of life service.
ACP WG-F/31 WP11
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ICAO Position:
Support the allocation of the frequency band 77.5-78 GHz to the radiolocation service in such a way as
not to restrict their use on taxiing aircraft