§ The Civil Aviation Authority, with the agreement of the Government, is now ready to make a major step forward in the automation of air traffic control in the United Kingdom. A series of contracts will be negotiated intended to provide by 1975, which is the earliest possible date, a powerful computer base for the continuing and urgently needed development of the facilities at the London Air Traffic Control Centre, West Drayton.
§ The system proposed is planned to meet the main needs of the United Kingdom Air Traffic Control Service until the early 1980s, providing an environment in which the growing air traffic can continue to operate with a high standard of safety. It aims to automate many tasks currently undertaken by controllers. These include the handling of flight plan data, the transfer of information between controllers within the London centre and between this centre and adjacent European centres. It also includes the addition of radar data processing to provide fully labelled synthetic radar displays.
§ The development work will give the British electronics industry extensive opportunities in advanced real time data processing systems and the chance to expand its capability in this important field of technology.
§ The system will include the central processor equipment developed for the United States Federal Aviation Administration for its large ATC Centres, and the FAA have generously agreed to provide their developed software. This system is called the 9020D, is based on IBM computers and is already in operation at a number of United States Centres. Associated with it will be a complex of display systems involving computers which will be provided by United Kingdom industry. The electronic data display system associated with the central processors will use a British invention, the Touch Wire Display System, as developed by British industry for air traffic control, and Marconi will be invited to provide this.
447W§ Further, Marconi, which has been a major contractor for the United Kingdom Mediator ATC project, is being invited to play a significant part in the system and software management involved in introducing the FAA 9020D system and interfacing it with British equipment. The plan also involves expansion by Marconi of the facilities provided by the Myriad I data processor developed and supplied by it for the London Air Traffic Control Centre, to be used for Middle Air Space control.
§ Corresponding facilities to be provided by British industry are planned for the Oceanic Area Control Centre, and for the Scottish Air Traffic Control Centre.
§ The system will provide the base for the continuing development of United Kingdom ATC automation and enable the placing of further contracts with British industry for advanced radar data processing and display equipment.
§ On the basis of these developments, the Civil Aviation Authority can plan to provide controllers with automatic warning of potential collision threats, and the Authority is studying means of extending the system to this end.
§ The overall programme is expected to cost over £25 million, of which the major part, over £20 million, will be placed with British industry.
§ For the longer term, the Authority will be placing early contracts for study for a replacement system from British industry capable of meeting the heavier traffic and more complex demands of the later 1980s and 1990s.