Airspace reforms

NAS airspace architecture (interim application)

AIRCRAFT flying in Australia will soon be governed by a new airspace regime with the phased introduction of the National Airspace System (NAS).

Military Air Space (MAS) in Australia has been reserved for military use only, but under the National Airspace System access by non-military traffic will be allowed under strict new rules.

The NAS will be implemented in phases, with Stage 1 scheduled to be introduced over the next six months.
Stage 1 changes will have minimal impact on the ADF, but the changes to be implemented over the remaining three stages have the potential to affect ADF flying operations.

The NAS, an important blueprint for Australian airspace, will comprise about 40 specific changes, the bulk of which will be implemented in the first three stages, which should be finalised by the end of next year. A fourth stage may be introduced in 2004 and will involve fine-tuning air space classifications or re-defining them to meet increased air traffic densities.

The Director of Battlespace Management Aerospace - Air Force Headquarters, Group Captain David Steele, said the Air Force accepted the need for change and believed preservation of safety and national security was paramount
“Military protocols for controlling airspace will accommodate, where possible, genuine and defendable civilian claims and market pressures for greater access to Military Air Space," GPCAPT Steele said.

Although there might be increased civil access to Military Air Space, GPCAPT Steele said the military would control the airspace it required for operational training and preserving national security. This would be achieved by creating Military Security Zones in traditional military training areas.

In addition to military aviation, the new system will affect air traffic control services to commercial airlines and private operators.

Apart from the changes to non-military traffic access to Military Air Space, a NAS Implementation Group will also look at other issues, including:

• maintaining all territorial firing/ weapons release and laser areas as restricted areas;
• maintaining high density/complexity flying training areas as restricted areas;
• Operating Warning Areas and Military Operating Areas (MOAs);
• danger areas becoming Alert Areas; and
• maintaining Defence Control Zones greater than 5km in radius due to the nature of military flying.

  Air Safety is a major issue for the NAS Implementation Group. Group leader Mike Smith, a commercial pilot and former head of Aviation Safety Promotion at the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), said while Australia had a proud safety record, there was no room for complacency and the NAS would “make a good system safer”.
  
  The benefits of the new system – the same as that in the United States – were its relative simplicity, compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation airspace classifications and the allocation of air traffic control services based on assessed risks. NAS would simplify aeronautical charts, making it easier for pilots to maintain a focus on good airmanship
  Joining Mr Smith on the implementation team as Deputy Executive Director is Group Captain Wayne Johnston, who is assisted by Squadron Leader Karl Holzmann.
  
  For further details visit the Implementation Group’s web site at www.dotars.gov.au/airspacereform.

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