STUDY AND ANALYSIS OF POSITION DATA ACQUISITION TECHNIQUES FOR OVER-OCEAN AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL.

Techniques were studied for supplying positional data on aircraft traversing oceanic areas to an air traffic control system. The pujpose was to determine which techniques might be technically feasible during the time period from the present to 1975. It was concluded that 1 Hybrid navigation systems presently available will determine the position of an airplane with acceptable accuracy, but a considerable improvement in long-range air-to-ground communications probably achievable only by a synchronous satellite system must occur before an advanced reported air-observed position determination system can be implemented. 2 A network of shipborne Rho-Theta observation units is technically capable of immediate implementation for the North Atlantic minimum time path envelope between New York and London or any similar route, but a number of operational and other nontechnical problems must be solved before this approach could be recommended. 3 Highfrequency techniques are unacceptable for this application. Author