A systematic review of ADS-B performance monitoring methods

Busyairah Syd Ali

Department of Software Engineering
Faculty of Computer Science & Information Technology
University of Malaya, Malaysia
busyairah@um.edu.my

Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) is a surveillance system onboard

aircraft that periodically transmits its state vector estimates. The state vector estimates
are derived from navigation avionics and transmitted via common communication
channel. These indicate that ADS-B is highly dependent on the navigation and
communication systems. In addition, the system requires ground stations to retrieve the
broadcast information. Due to this complex architecture, the system is prone to various
failure modes. Therefore a systematic, comprehensive and periodic performance
monitoring system is required to ensure safe use of ADS-B surveillance data for Air Traffic
Control (ATC) operations. This is crucial to be in place before global ADS-B system
mandate by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). A number of Air Navigation
Service Providers (ANSPs) have developed ADS-B performance monitoring methods.
These include EUROCONTROL, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Airservices
Australia, Hong Kong China Civil Aviation Department and Civil Aviation
Authority of Singapore. This work conducts a systematic review on these methods. It
then classifies the methods to identify gaps. Finally, derives a set of performances
indicators for monitoring ADS-B stations, avionics and performance level.

Keywords: ADS-B, performance monitoring, surveillance system.

1. Introduction

Implementation of ADS-B Out is slowly taking place in many regions. This involves voluntary
efforts by the Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs), airline operators, regulators and
manufacturers, as the global mandate is yet in place. However, some regions such as
Australia have advanced in this effort.

In order to ensure that the implementations are operationally safe either towards mix-mode
(radar and ADS-B) or sole operation of ADS-B in non-radar airspace, safety monitoring of the
system is essential. This includes monitoring of ADS-B ground stations, avionics and performance
level.

This paper discusses the principles of ADS-B operations, analyses in detailed the system
infrastructures and implementation requirements. Subsequently, it reviews effort from a number
of ANSPs such as EUROCONTROL, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Airservices
Australia, Hong Kong China Civil Aviation Department and Civil Aviation
Authority of Singapore on developing and implementing ADS-B monitoring system. Each
systems’ features are reviewed in detail.

Based on the detailed and systematic review, a set of performance indicators for
monitoring ADS-B ground station, avionics and performance is derived. Finally,
compliance of the reviewed systems to the derived performance indicators is analyzed.

2. Principle of ADS-B Operation

RTCA (2002) defines ADS-B as a function on an aircraft or a surface vehicle operating within the
surface movement area that periodically broadcasts its position and other information without
knowing the recipients and without expecting acknowledgements as the system only supports
one-way broadcasts. The system is automatic in the sense that it does not require external
intervention to transmit the information. It is characterized as dependent due to its dependence
on aircraft navigation avionics to obtain the surveillance information. ADS-B is a cooperative
system, because it requires common equipage for aircraft, or vehicles on the airport surface to
exchange information. It provides aircraft state information such as horizontal position, altitude,
vector, velocity and trajectory intent information. The latter is critical for trajectory prediction
which is the basis of the trajectory-based operations concept of SESAR and NextGen.

The ADS-B system architecture is divided into two subsystems, “ADS-B Out” and “ADS-B In”. ICAO
defines the term “ADS-B Out” as the broadcast of ADS-B transmissions from the aircraft, without
the installation of complementary receiving equipment to process and display ADS-B data on the
cockpit displays. The complementary subsystem is “ADS-B In”, which provides air-to-air
situational awareness to the pilots. ADS-B Out has the capability to operate independently to
provide air-ground surveillance services to the ATC. On the other hand, implementation of ADS-B
In requires fully operational ADS-B Out as a pre-requisite, certification of cockpit displays,
consideration of pilot human factors and other activities which have a longer deployment
schedule.

An ADS-B equipped aircraft uses an on-board navigation system to obtain the aircraft position
from GNSS. The system then broadcasts periodically the position, velocity and intent data to
other ADS-B equipped aircraft and ADS-B ground stations within its range via a data link service.
The ground stations transmit the received ADS-B reports to a surveillance data processing
system to process the data for ATC use. Figure 1 illustrates the ADS-B system.
 Figure : Automatic Dependant Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B)

3. ADS-B Infrastructures

The system infrastructure includes ground and airborne infrastructures. Figure 2 and 3 illustrate
the avionics for ADS-B Out and ADS-B In. Table 2 and 3 show the ground and airborne
components and their functionalities. The aircraft equipage requirement for ADS-B differs
according to the implementation of ADS-B Out and ADS-B In. The operational ADS-B Out is a pre-
requisite for the ADS-B In implementation.

To enable ADS-B equipped aircraft to operate in non-radar airspace, it has to be certified to

Acceptable Means of Compliance (AMC) 20-24 standard (airworthiness and operational
approval of the “Enhanced Air Traffic Services in Non-Radar Areas using ADS-B Surveillance”).
According to the EU Regulation 1207/2011 applies to enable aircraft to operate in radar
airspace. However, this regulation is not adopted globally.

According to the Surveillance Performance and Interoperability Implementing Rule (SPI-IR) ,

aircraft with airworthiness certification on or after 8 January 2015 are to be equipped with
secondary surveillance radar transponders with the capabilities specified in Annex IV of the SPI-
IR (forward-fit). While aircraft with airworthiness certification before 8 January 2015, are to be
equipped with the same by 7 December 2017 (retrofit). The requirements stipulated in Annex IV
of the SPI-IR enable full implementation of ADS-B Out by the aircraft operators. However, to date
no regulation has been placed on the Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) to implement
ADS-B ground infrastructures. It is expected that this rule will follow in the near future due to
the need to implement ADS-B globally.
 Figure : ADS-B Out avionics

Figure : ADS-B In avionics

Table 1: ADS-B Ground infrastructure components

Components Function
ADS-B receiver and Receive ADS-B messages broadcast from aircraft
antenna
GPS Clock Time stamp received ADS-B messages
Communication Link Transmit message from ground station to ATC surveillance data
processing unit
ADS-B situational display Display aircraft position and state vector in a similar manner as radar

Table 2: ADS-B Airborne infrastructure components

Component Function
Navigation Source (e.g. GPS) Derive and transmit aircraft position and state vector
information to ADS-B emitter
ADS-B Avionics (standalone box for UAT) Encode and broadcast ADS-B message
*For 1090ES ADS-B, this function will be
performed by the transponder (MODE-S
ES transponder)
 Component Function
Antenna for ADS-B , Transponder, GPS To support ADS-B OUT, a single antenna at the bottom
of the aircraft is required.
To support ADS-B IN, antenna diversity is required,
whereby two antennas; one at the top and one at the
bottom of the aircraft is required.
Antenna Duplexer To enable one antenna sharing between transponder
and ADS-B unit.
Barometric Altimeter Generate aircraft altitude
Altitude Encoding Altimeter Synchronize altitude information transmitted in the
ADS-B message and altitude transmitted by the
transponder
Control Panel To enable pilot to key in or select aircraft
identification, SPI, emergency pulse
Flight Management System (FMS) To manage flight plan and connected to other avionics

It is noted that ADS-B is highly dependent on navigation and communication systems. At present
GPS is widely used and supported as the navigation source for ADS-B. Three types of data links
are used in States; Mode S-Extended Squitter (1090ES), Universal Access Transceiver (UAT), and
VDL-Mode 4 of which 1090ES is the most widely deployed.

4. Implementation

A fully operational ADS-B system (ADS-B Out and ADS-B In) requires all aircraft to be equipped
with certified ADS-B avionics, certified ADS-B ground stations with complete airspace coverage,
globally agreed operational procedures and most importantly a mandate. These in turn depend
on the airline operators to equip aircraft, ANSP to provide the ground infrastructures and
Regulators (ICAO, FAA, and EUROCONTROL) to provide the operational procedures and mandate
to the stakeholders. In addition, the willingness of equipment manufacturers to develop the
required functionalities to support the required ADS-B application is crucial. Before the system
can be made fully operational, collaborative effort from both the ANSP and airline operators
must made compulsory. This is vital to assess and ensure the required system performance
including safety to support the intended surveillance applications.

Despite the anticipated benefits of ADS-B, its adoption rate is tied to each operator’s own
cost/benefit analysis. The higher the benefit over the cost, the greater the likelihood of early
adoption. In addition, political interference also plays a major role in the adoption and
implementation of ADS-B. Due to the involvement of various parties and costs, the
implementation processes are carried out in phases. The progress of ADS-B implementation in
recent years has been driven by voluntary effort of the various parties and in some cases a
regional mandate (e.g. in Australia). Without a global mandate, it will not be possible to provide
a complete ADS-B service. Instead, ATC will have to operate in mixed mode operational
environment (radar and ADS-B), which will disable the ADS-B In function.
5. ADS-B System Monitoring

ADS-B system monitoring is being undertaken by EUROCONTROL, Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA), Airservices Australia, Hong Kong China Civil Aviation Department
and Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore to ensure the system reliability and safety.

5.1 Airservices Australia

Airservices Australia is monitoring ADS-B performance at a number of levels. In the first level,
site monitoring is conducted to check the receiver sensitivity and antenna cable in real time. This
is conducted by injecting an ADS-B signal into the antenna and then checking if the signal is
received at the correct signal strength and whether the message is received reliably by the ATC
system . At the second level, a significant number of ground station parameters are monitored
remotely and if the parameter performance exceeds predefined thresholds, alerts are
generated. At the third level, all failures, service outages and repair/return to service times for
each ADS-B site are recorded. The last level captures and reports the avionics performance for
each airframe. The report will contain the following information:
 24 bit code
 Associated flight ID
 Minimum and maximum FOM (NUC / NIC)
 Number of position “jumps”
 Number of zero integrity reports
 Registered operator and aircraft type (for Australian aircraft)
 ADS-B data version
The reports are recorded in the Airservices System Issue Database (ASID). Finally the anomalies
identified are sent as a feedback to the relevant airlines, operators or manufacturers for further
analysis and mitigation.

5.2 EUROCONTROL

In Europe, EUROCONTROL monitors ADS-B performance based on the traffic identified for the
13000 aircraft participating in the monitoring project. 20 billion reports have been analyzed to
monitor the ADS-B data accuracy against multiradar data accuracy for all the participating
aircraft. Aircraft compliance with the EASA AMC 20-24 is also monitored. Anomalies identified in
the participating aircraft are resolved in co-operation with the related airlines, operators and
avionics manufacturers .

5.3 Federal Aviation Authority (FAA)

The FAA has developed an active monitoring system called the Surveillance and Broadcast (SBS)
monitor to ensure the ground equipment at each ADS-B site delivers the required services to the
FAA . However, the FAA has not developed automated means and procedures to analyze the
large amount of performance data recorded by the SBS monitor or assigned sufficient human
resources to carry out analysis . In addition, the FAA has not ensured the network design for the
SBS monitor works as intended and is a reliable tool that can help it to avoid and resolve outages
. A recent update by the FAA indicates that the SBS monitor is planning to include avionics
compliance monitoring in the future.
5.4 Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS)

Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) has implemented Surveillance Monitoring System
(SMS) to monitor the performance of their operational surveillance sensors . The SMS is
primarily used to monitor performance of radars. However, CAAS has extended the system to
monitor ADS-B ground stations and ADS-B avionics of aircraft operating within their Flight
Information Region (FIR). The SMS monitors performance of ADS ground stations by performing
coverage analysis and measuring probability of detection a particular ground station based on
opportunity traffic. Problems at a particular ground station are identified from the performance
assessment. For example, poor probability of detection could be due to faulty antenna or poor
location. The SMS also monitors ADS-B avionics performance by measuring accuracy of ADS-B
horizontal position and validating the accuracy performance indicator included in the ADS-B
messages called Navigational Uncertainty Category (NUC). NUC value validation is conducted by
checking the deviation between ADS-B reported position and corresponding radar reported
position. In addition, the system also generates probability of detection for each aircraft flying in
the FIR. Apart from that, the system also identifies errors such as split track and coupling failure
in the Air Traffic Control Automation System. CAAS is in the process to implement the following
features to the SMS:
 Measure the gaps between geometric heights and the respective barometric heights to
prevent misleading Mode C heights being used;
 Compare ADS-B reports from two separate stations in order to detect corruption in the
ADS-B data from a particular station or even spoofing.
 Monitor the spread of the ADS-B position data whereby a large spread may imply poor
position integrity.

5.5 Civil Aviation Department Hong Kong (CAD HK)

Civil Aviation Department Hong Kong (CAD HK) has implemented performance monitoring and
analysis of ADS-B equipped aircraft flying within Hong Kong Flight Information Region (FIR)
(HKFIR). At the beginning of each month, the system will gather all recorded information on ADS-
B, radar target data and flight plan within HKFIR in an offline mode. For each ADS-B flight, the
system compares it with radar and flight plan to analyze compliance to the following criteria :
 Deviation between ADS-B reported position and independent referenced radar position
is greater than 1 NM for more than 5% of total number ADS-B updates;
 Navigation Uncertainty Category (NUC) accompanying each ADS-B reported position is
smaller than 4 for more than 5% of total number of ADS-B updates; and
 Flight Identification (FLTID) entered via cockpit interface and transmitted in ADS-B data
does not match with aircraft callsign in the ATS Flight Plan for more than 5% of total
number of ADS-B updates.

6. Potential set of performance indicators for monitoring ADS-B ground stations, avionics
and performance
In this paper, a set of performance indicators for monitoring ADS-B ground stations, avionics and
performance is derived as a result of the systematic review of monitoring systems in place to
date, analysis of ADS-B infrastructure and operational principles. Table 3 tabulates the
performance indicators and compliances of various ANSPs monitoring systems to the set of
indicators.

Table 3: ADS-B ground station, avionics and performance monitoring indicators

Performance AirServices Federal EUROCONTROL Civil Aviation Civil Aviation

Indicators Australia Aviation Authority of Department
Authority Singapore Hong Kong
(CAAS) (CAD HK)

ADS-B Ground Station

Site Monitoring
 Receiver  
Sensitivity
 Antenna Cable  
 GPS health  
 Coverage check 
 Probability of 
Detection
Remote Control &
Monitoring (RCMS)
 CPU process  
operation
 Temperature  
 Asterix output  
load
 Time  
synchronization
 GPS status  
 Power status  
 Site monitor status
Logistic Support
Monitoring
 Records all  
failures, service
outages and
repair/return to
service times
ADS-B Statistics Monitoring
 Update & maintain  
list of ADS-B
equipped airframe
details database
ADS-B avionics performance monitoring
 Track consistency 
 Valid Flight ID  
 Performance AirServices Federal EUROCONTROL Civil Aviation Civil Aviation
Indicators Australia Aviation Authority of Department
Authority Singapore Hong Kong
(CAAS) (CAD HK)

 Presence of 
NAC/NIC/NUC
values
 Presence of 
geometric altitude
 Presence and 
correctness of
velocity vector
 Correctness of 24 
bit code
 Avionics 
configuration &
connections
 Validity of  
NAC/NIC/NUC
values
 Accuracy of ADS-B   
horizontal position
(based on a
reference sensor)
 Deviation between 
geometric and
barometric height
 Compare ADS-B 
reports from
two/more
separate stations
 Monitor spread of 
the ADS-B position
data
ATC Display
 Split track- ADS-B 
reported position
might be off
 Coupling Failure- 
Wrong aircraft ID

7. Conclusion

The set of performance indicator for an ADS-B monitoring system derived in this paper is
suggested to be used as a basis in ICAO’s guideline document to develop and implement ADS-B
monitoring system. The review shows that, Airservices Australia’s approach is the most
compliant with the derived set of indicators. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Hong
Kong China Civil Aviation Department and Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore have still
to improve their current monitoring approach to ensure ADS-B safety for ATC operations.
References