ORIANA PAWLYK
The Air Force Academy’s aircraft are outfitted with the latest version of the satellite-based transponder known as the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, or ADS-B.
But the rest of the Air Force’s aircraft inventory may be falling behind.
The academy’s 27 training planes are the only part of the Air Force inventory to be fully retrofitted with the transponder, according to the service’s data recently provided to Military.com.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ruling in 2008 to establish regulations and procedures for transitioning to ADS-B. The technology uses global positioning satellites rather than radar to determine an aircraft’s location, airspeed and other data, and broadcasts that information to a network of ground stations.
The FAA requires the transponder by 2020 for all aircraft flying at or above 10,000 feet.Two C-130J Hercules — the latest models of the airlift cargo plane — also have ADS-B out of the 77 total J models the service has in its inventory.
Fighter and attack aircraft such as the F-15 Eagle, F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, F-16 Fighting Falcon and A-10 Thunderbolt II all have “to be determined” status when they will incorporate ADS-B, the service said.
Between fiscal years 2023 and 2025, the B-2 Spirit, B-1B Lancer and B-52 Stratofortress bombers, along with the F-22 Raptor, are set to get the new technology, according to Air Force data.
https://www.dodbuzz.com/2017/10/10/air-force-aircraft-new-fully-functional-transponder/
