OEP Plan Reference Sheet NNEW

NextGen Network - Enabled Weather (NNEW)

Flight Plan Goal # 2 – Greater Capacity.
PW1 Objective # 1.5 – Minimize the impact of weather on the operation
PW3 Objective # 3.2 – Build capacity safely to meet demand
PW4 Objective # 4.2 – Deliver a future air traffic system that meets customers’ operational needs
The FAA has identified this program as an enabler program for the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen).

Background / Need:

Seventy percent of National Air Space (NAS) delays are attributed to weather every year. The goal of this investment (combined with the other technologies) is to cut weather-related delays at least in half.   

The NextGen Network Enabled Weather (NNEW) will serve as the core of the NextGen weather support services and provide a common weather picture across the national airspace system. These services will, in turn, be integrated into other key components of NextGen required to enable better air transportation decision-making.

It provides network access to weather information from distributed weather information sources (e.g., General Weather Processor) by all users; and fusion and integration of weather information into NextGen decision support systems. It is anticipated that tens of thousands of global weather observations and sensor reports from ground-, airborne-, and space-based sources would fuse into a single national weather information system, updated as needed in real-time.

 

Solution(s):

Consolidation of weather processors (e.g., ITWS, CWIS, WARP) and observation systems (e.g., potentially replacing LLWAS and TDWR with MPAR).

Program Plans FY 2008 – Performance Output Goals

• Develop Mission analysis.
  
  
• Develop Initial requirements document.
  
  
• Complete Trade studies.
  
  
• Develop Business case package to include all acquisition planning documents.

Program Plans FY 2009-2012 – Performance Output Goals

• Full Scale Development (FSD) of National Weather Flow Models.
  
  
• Implement Regional Traffic Models and Architecture Pockets of implementation of NNEW Repository.
  
  
• FSD of Weather SWIM Node.
  
  
• Conduct NNEW Systems Synthesis, Integration Test.
  
  
• Develop Required Total NNEW System Performance.
  
  
• Implement NNEW Oceanic and Offshore Precision Operations.
  
  
• Implement pockets of NNEW for network enabled operations.
  
• Achieve Initial Operational Capability of the NNEW.

 

Operational Benefits:

NNEW is an enterprise service dissemination of common weather observations and forecasts to enable collaborative and dynamic NAS decision making. It enables integration of information from weather sources into all applicable Next Gen decision support systems. It fuses weather observations into a common virtual, continuously updated weather information data set available to all network users. Its value hinges on developing automated decision-support tools that help mitigate the effects of weather in the NAS.

Planned efforts will reduce costs through consolidation of weather processors and observation systems.
Better weather information integrated into controller decision support tools will improve the quality of controller decisions and greatly reduce controller workload during bad weather.