The US Air Force has deployed a military terminal flight data management (TFDM) with electronic flight strips, as part of the Air Force Flight Standards Agency (AFFSA) operational utility evaluation (OUE).
Installed under an agreement between AFFSA and Frequentis Defense, the system automates production, distribution and administrative management of flight plan information.
The TFDM system also supports other ATC / flight data for inter and intrafacility coordination within and between the various airfield operations facilities (RAPCON – radar approach control, control tower and base operations).
Currently in use with military air traffic controllers at Vance AFB, Oklahoma, the TFDM system went live after passing a site acceptance test (SAT) and obtaining the FAA certifications for use in the NAS.
The efficiencies gained after using the system will be studied by AFFSA during the evaluation period, which will run for a year.
The result will determine whether or not the air force will deploy such electronic flights strips in all ATC facilities, in an effort to reduce the overall costs of air force ATC operations.
The US Air Force is aiming to cut both paper strip costs and the man hours required to utilise paper strips, analyse flight activities at the end of each shift, and prepare traffic analysis reports.
