FACTS2: Extended simulation framework for ATM communication demand analysis of Europe

The modernization of the European air transportation system will increase the need for data communication. This creates the need for large-scale simulations to ascertain that new aeronautical communication systems fulfil the requirements of future air traffic management communication. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) created a framework for such simulations based on service-oriented software architecture. The Framework for Aeronautical Communications and Traffic Simulations 2 (FACTS2) is based on the concept of service oriented simulation: Creating complex simulations from simple software building blocks called “services”. In this paper we describe the extension of the FACTS2 simulation framework by a communication load simulation suitable to feed aeronautical communication technology evaluations. We create a simulation toolchain from existing and new FACTS2 simulation services and interconnect them using XML and the UNIX pipe interface. We demonstrate our method with the air traffic management communication demand analysis of the continental European airspace. Our results indicate that the expected air traffic management communication load for the ESRA08 area is below 3,000 kbps in the ground-to-air direction and less than 1,000 kbps in the air-to ground direction until 2035.