Airlines in the next decade will face what might be an unprecedented direct or indirect requirement for equipping their aircraft with communications, navigation, surveillance and safety kits in order to gain access to the NextGen system's most efficient routing and operations. Along with GPS-enabled performance-based navigation (PBN), aircraft will need data communications (datacomm) capabilities, automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) technology and, very likely, a new airborne collision avoidance system (ACAS X) that is more compatible with NextGen operations. While new aircraft are likely to have the equipment offered as forward-fit, there are thousands that will need retrofits or risk becoming operationally obsolete.
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