Next Generation Air Transportation System: Linking Test Facilities Can Help Leverage Resources and Improve Technology Transfer Efforts
Published: 2011-11-07T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: This testimony discusses the use of test facilities as a means of leveraging public, private, and academic resources to deliver technologies for the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). NextGen will affect nearly every aspect of air transportation and will transform the way in which the air transportation system operates today. It is a complex undertaking that requires new technologies--including new integrated ground and aircraft systems--as well as new procedures, processes, and supporting infrastructure. The result will be an air transportation system that relies on satellite-based surveillance and navigation, data communications, and improved collaborative decision making. Transforming the nation's air transportation system affects and involves the activities and missions of several federal agencies, though the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the lead implementer. In addition, NextGen was designed and planned to be developed in collaboration with aviation stakeholders--airlines and other airspace users, air traffic controllers, and avionics, aircraft, and automation systems manufacturers--in order to facilitate coordinated research activities, transfer technologies from FAA and partner agencies to the private sector, and take advantage of research and technology developed by the private sector that could meet NextGen needs, as appropriate. Three NextGen test facilities, collectively referred to as the NextGen Test Bed, are designed to foster the research and development of NextGen-related technologies and to evaluate integrated technologies and procedures for nationwide NextGen deployment. These test facilities provide access to the systems currently used in the national air space (NAS) and house various types of hardware, simulators, and other equipment to allow for demonstrations of new technologies. They also provide opportunities for stakeholders--public and private--to collaborate with FAA, academia, and each other. This statement today discusses (1) the role of the NextGen test facilities in the development of NextGen technologies and how private industry and partner agencies participate in projects at the NextGen test facilities, and (2) our previous findings on NextGen technology transfer and FAA's efforts to improve the transfer and implementation of NextGen-related technologies. This statement is based on our prior NextGen-related reports and testimonies, updated with information we gathered from FAA and test facility officials in October 2011. The GAO reports cited in this statement contain more detailed explanations of the methods used to conduct our work, which we performed in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: The role of the NextGen Test Bed is to demonstrate the benefits of NextGen initiatives and to do so early in the technology development process. While sharing a common purpose, each of the three facilities that collectively make up the NextGen Test Bed offers different testing capabilities and brings together different participants from different communities. Across the test facilities private and public sector stakeholders contribute personnel, equipment, and funding to develop and integrate technologies. Linking the test facilities to leverage the benefits of each is part of the NextGen Test Bed concept and officials from the test facilities indicated they have made some progress in doing so. In prior work on technology transfer activities, we found that the success of test facilities as a means to leverage private sector resources depends in large part on the extent to which the private sector perceives benefits to its participation. Similarly, collaboration among the NextGen partner agencies depends in part on their seeing outcomes that further their mission and on identifying a common purpose. FAA has taken a number of actions to improve its ability to implement new technologies and increase partner agencies' and private sector participants' involvement in seeing the development of selected technologies through to successful implementation--including restructuring the organization responsible for implementing NextGen and linking the test facilities and improving their capabilities.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: I appreciate the opportunity to testify before you today on the use of test  facilities as a means of leveraging public, private, and academic  resources to deliver technologies for the Next Generation Air  Transportation System (NextGen). NextGen will affect nearly every  aspect of air transportation and will transform the way in which the air  transportation system operates today. It is a complex undertaking that  requires new technologies—including new integrated ground and aircraft  systems—as well as new procedures, processes, and supporting  infrastructure. The result will be an air transportation system that relies on  satellite-based surveillance and navigation, data communications, and  improved collaborative decision making. Transforming the nation’s air  transportation system affects and involves the activities and missions of  several federal agencies, though the Federal Aviation Administration  (FAA) is the lead implementer. In addition, NextGen was designed and  planned to be developed in collaboration with aviation stakeholders— airlines and other airspace users, air traffic controllers, and avionics,  aircraft, and automation systems manufacturers—in order to facilitate  coordinated research activities, transfer technologies from FAA and  partner agencies to the private sector, and take advantage of research  and technology developed by the private sector that could meet NextGen  needs, as appropriate. Three NextGen test facilities, collectively referred  to as the NextGen Test Bed, are designed to foster the research and  development of NextGen-related technologies and to evaluate integrated  technologies and procedures for nationwide NextGen deployment. These  test facilities provide access to the systems currently used in the national  air space (NAS) and house various types of hardware, simulators, and  other equipment to allow for demonstrations of new technologies. They  also provide opportunities for stakeholders—public and private—to  collaborate with FAA, academia, and each other.
My statement today discusses (1) the role of the NextGen test facilities in  the development of NextGen technologies and how private industry and  partner agencies participate in projects at the NextGen test facilities, and  (2) our previous findings on NextGen technology transfer and FAA’s  efforts to improve the transfer and implementation of NextGen-related  technologies. This statement is based on our prior NextGen-related  reports and testimonies, updated with information we gathered from FAA  and test facility officials in October 2011. The GAO reports cited in this  statement contain more detailed explanations of the methods used to  conduct our work, which we performed in accordance with generally  accepted government auditing standards.
In summary, the role of the NextGen Test Bed is to demonstrate the  benefits of NextGen initiatives and to do so early in the technology  development process. While sharing a common purpose, each of the  three facilities that collectively make up the NextGen Test Bed offers  different testing capabilities and brings together different participants from  different communities. Across the test facilities private and public sector  stakeholders contribute personnel, equipment, and funding to develop  and integrate technologies. Linking the test facilities to leverage the  benefits of each is part of the NextGen Test Bed concept and officials  from the test facilities indicated they have made some progress in doing  so. In prior work on technology transfer activities, we found that the  success of test facilities as a means to leverage private sector resources  depends in large part on the extent to which the private sector perceives  benefits to its participation. Similarly, collaboration among the NextGen  partner agencies depends in part on their seeing outcomes that further  their mission and on identifying a common purpose. FAA has taken a  number of actions to improve its ability to implement new technologies  and increase partner agencies’ and private sector participants'  involvement in seeing the development of selected technologies through  to successful implementation—including restructuring the organization  responsible for implementing NextGen and linking the test facilities and  improving their capabilities.
subsections: section_title: NextGen Test Facilities Share a Purpose but Have Different Capabilities and Participants
paragraphs: The purpose of the NextGen Test Bed is to provide an environment in  which laboratory testing and real-world demonstrations help to show the  benefits of NextGen technologies. Furthermore, the Test Bed provides  access to the systems currently used in the NAS, which allows for testing  and evaluating the integration and interoperability of new technologies.  The Test Bed is also meant to bring together stakeholders early in the  technology development process so participants can understand the  benefits of operational improvements, identify potential risks and  integration and interoperability issues, and foster partnerships between  government and industry. Some test facilities also serve as a forum in  which private companies can learn from and partner with each other and  eventually enter into technology acquisition agreements with FAA with  reduced risk.
Each of the NextGen test facilities that compose the NextGen Test Bed  offers different testing capabilities and brings together different  participants. The test facilities include: (1) the Florida Test Bed at  Daytona Beach International Airport, supported by Embry-Riddle  Aeronautical University (Embry-Riddle); (2) the Texas Test Bed, a  National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) facility near the  Dallas-Fort Worth Airport; and (3) the New Jersey Test Bed located at  FAA’s William J. Hughes Technical Center near Atlantic City. (See fig. 1).  According to FAA, while physically in different locations, the facilities are  united in their purpose and will eventually be integrated to share  capabilities and information.
While sharing a common purpose, each facility offers different testing  capabilities and brings together different participants from different  communities, as follows:    The Florida Test Bed is located in a private facility at which  companies, including Lockheed Martin and Boeing, come together  with academia and FAA to test technologies that fit into the NextGen  vision. Private participants contribute financially to research and  demonstration projects and collaborate to test concepts and  technologies. These activities are guided by memorandums of  understanding among all the participants. Embry-Riddle is currently  working on a model agreement to govern the contributions of its  private partners that will help delineate which components (hardware,  software, and infrastructure) will be provided by the government and  which by private participants. The model is meant to provide a cost-  sharing method and also help engage participants and provide a  means for them to have a vested interest in seeing the development  of the technology all the way through to implementation. Currently,  FAA pays the operating costs of the Florida Test Bed while Embry- Riddle and participating companies contribute technology and  technical staff. Private participants may invest directly in software or  hardware support. The facility—which has just undergone an  expansion—provides access to the systems currently used in the NAS  and to some of the major navigation, surveillance, communications,  and weather information programs that are under development. It also  has a dedicated area to support demonstrations and a separate space  for the participating companies to test integration—where a greater  contribution from the private sector is envisioned.    The Texas Test Bed is a collaborative effort between NASA and FAA  built on the grounds of FAA’s Fort Worth Air Route Traffic Control  Center. It supports NextGen research through field evaluations,  shadow testing, the evaluation of simulations, and data collection and  analysis. The researchers at the facility have agreements to receive  data feeds from the airlines operating at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport,  as well as various data feeds from airport and air traffic control  facilities.    The New Jersey Test Bed, located at FAA’s national scientific test  base, conducts research and development for new NextGen systems.  In June 2010, this facility opened the NextGen Integration and  Evaluation Capability area where scientists use real-time simulation to  explore, integrate, and evaluate NextGen concepts, such as area  navigation, trajectory-based operations, and unmanned aircraft  system operations in the NAS. In addition, in 2008, FAA entered into a  lease to build the Next Generation Research and Technology Park  (the Park) adjacent to the New Jersey Test Bed. The Park is a  partnership intended to engage industry in a broad spectrum of  research projects, with access to state-of-the-art federal laboratories.  The Park’s establishment is meant to encourage the transfer of  scientific and technical information, data, and know-how to and from  the private sector and is consistent with FAA’s technology transfer  goals. (See table 1 for examples of past and planned activities at  NextGen test facilities.)
According to officials from the test facilities, they have made some  progress in their plans to link the NextGen test facilities to integrate  capabilities and share information. Linking the test facilities to leverage  the benefits of each is part of the NextGen Test Bed concept. According  to an FAA official, in June 2011, the Florida and New Jersey Test Beds  established data integration capabilities when they were connected with  FAA’s NextGen Research and Development computer network. During  the summer, they used the integrated capabilities to participate in a  demonstration of the Oceanic Conflict Advisory Trial (OCAT) system. In  addition, the Texas Test Bed is in the final stages of being connected to  FAA’s NextGen Research and Development computer network.  According to officials at the Texas Test Bed, in the past year, FAA and  NASA collaborated on a NextGen Test Bed capabilities analysis and  developed an interagency agreement to support NextGen Test Bed  collaboration. This increased level of coordination is expected to continue.
section_title: Stakeholders Must See Tangible Results to Participate in NextGen Technology Development, and FAA Has Taken Steps to Improve Technology Transfer and Implementation
paragraphs: In prior work on technology transfer activities, we found that the success of  test facilities as a means to leverage private sector resources depends in  large part on the extent to which the private sector perceives benefits to its  participation. Representatives of firms participating in test facility activities  told us that tangible results—that is, the implementation of technologies  they helped to develop—were important to maintain the private sector’s  interest. However, they said it was not always clear what happened to  technologies that were successfully tested at these sites. In some cases, it  was not apparent whether the technology being tested had a clear path to  implementation, or whether that technology had a clear place in FAA’s NAS  Enterprise Architecture Infrastructure Roadmaps. As a result, a  successfully tested technology would not move to implementation in the  NAS. We also found that FAA has had difficulty advancing technologies  that cut across programs and offices at FAA, when there is no clear “home”  or “champion” within FAA for the technology.
FAA’s expansion of the Test Bed concept—linking together its testing  facilities, expanding the Florida Test Bed, and building a Research and  Technology Park adjacent to the New Jersey Test Bed to complement the  capabilities at Embry-Riddle—is a positive step that should help to  address some of these issues, allowing private sector participants to  remain more involved throughout the process, with a vested interest in  seeing the development of selected technologies through to successful  implementation. In addition, to improve its ability to implement new  technologies, FAA has begun to restructure its Air Traffic Organization  (ATO), which is responsible for moving air traffic safely and efficiently, as  well as for implementing NextGen. We have previously reported on  problems with FAA’s management structure and oversight of NextGen  acquisitions and implementation and made recommendations designed to  improve FAA’s ability to manage portfolios of capabilities across program  offices. To address these issues, FAA made the Deputy Administrator  responsible for the NextGen organization and created a new head of  program management for NextGen-related programs to ensure improved  oversight of NextGen implementation. Furthermore, the ATO is in the  process of being divided into two branches: operations and NextGen  program management. Operations will focus on the day-to-day  management of the NAS and the program management branch will be  responsible for developing and implementing programs while working with  operations to ensure proper integration. While a focus on accountability  for NextGen implementation is a positive step and can help address  issues with respect to finding the right “home” for technologies and  creating a clearer path to implementation, it is too early to tell whether this  reorganization will produce the desired results.
Collaboration among the NextGen partner agencies also depends, in part,  on their perceiving positive outcomes. NASA has historically been FAA’s  primary source of long-term air traffic management research and  continues to lead research and development activities for many key  elements of NextGen. However, past technology transfer efforts between  NASA and FAA faced challenges at the transfer point between invention  and acquisition, referred to as the “valley of death.” At this point in the  process, NASA has limited funding at times to continue beyond  fundamental research, but the technology was not matured to a level for  FAA to assume the risks of investing in a technology that had not yet  been demonstrated with a prototype or similar evidence. FAA and NASA  officials are both working to address this issue through interagency  agreements that specify a commitment to a more advanced level of  technological maturity of research that NASA has conducted in the past.  Using an interagency agreement, as well as test facility demonstrations,  NASA developed and successfully transferred the Traffic Management  Advisor—a program that uses graphical displays and alerts to increase  situational awareness for air traffic controllers and traffic management  coordinators—to FAA. Through the agreement, the two agencies  established the necessary data feeds and two-way computer interfaces to  support the program. NASA demonstrated the system’s capabilities at the  Texas Test Bed, where it also conducted operational evaluations and  transferred the program to FAA, which, after reengineering it for  operational use, deployed it throughout the United States.
FAA has also used research transition teams to coordinate research and  transfer technologies from NASA and overcome technology transfer  challenges. As we have previously reported, the design of these teams  is consistent with several key practices of interagency coordination we  have identified. These teams identify common outcomes, establish a joint strategy to achieve that outcome, and define each agency’s role  responsibilities, allowing FAA and NASA to overcome differences in  agency missions, cultures, and established ways of doing business.
Differences in mission priorities, however, particularly between FAA and  the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and between FAA and the  Department of Defense (DOD), pose a challenge to coordination with  those agencies. DHS’s diverse set of mission priorities, ranging from  aviation security to border protection, affects its level of involvement in  NextGen activities. Agency officials also have stated that although  different offices within DHS are involved in related NextGen activities,  such as security issues, the fact that NextGen implementation is not a  formalized mission in DHS can affect its level of participation in NextGen  activities. NextGen stakeholders reported that FAA could more effectively  engage partner agencies in long-term planning by aligning  implementation activities to agency mission priorities and by obtaining  agency buy-in for actions required to transform the NAS.
In addition, we have reported that FAA’s mechanisms for collaborating on  research and technology development efforts with DOD and DHS do not  ensure that resources are fully leveraged. For example, FAA and DOD  have yet to fully identify what DOD research, technology, or expertise  could support NextGen activities. DOD has not completed an inventory of  its research and development portfolio related to NextGen, impeding  FAA’s ability to identify and leverage potentially useful research,  technology, or expertise from DOD. In addition, DHS’s collaboration with  FAA and its NextGen planning unit, the Joint Planning and Development  Office has been limited in certain areas of NextGen research, and the  agencies have yet to fully determine what can be leveraged. Lack of  coordination between FAA and DOD and FAA and DHS could result in  duplicative research and inefficient use of resources at both agencies. We  previously recommended that these agencies develop mechanisms to  further clarify NextGen interagency collaborative priorities and enhance  technology transfer between the agencies.
Chairman Mica, Ranking Member Rahall, and Members of the  Committee, this concludes my prepared statement. I would be pleased to  answer any questions that you may have at this time.
section_title: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments
paragraphs: For further information on this testimony, please contact Gerald L.  Dillingham, Ph.D., at (202) 512-2834 or dillinghamg@gao.gov. In  addition, contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and  Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this statement. Individuals  making key contributions to this testimony include Andrew Von Ah  (Assistant Director), Kevin Egan, Elizabeth Eisenstadt, Richard Hung,  Bert Japikse, Kieran McCarthy, and Jessica Wintfeld.
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