Enhancing Safety and Efficiency from a Distance
A Look at FAA’s New Remote Tower Testbed
By Tom Hoffman, FAA Safety Briefing Magazine
In the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Bill (PDF download), Congress directed the FAA to establish a Remote Tower Pilot Program to assess the feasibility of implementing Remote Tower (RT) technology into the national airspace system. An RT serves as a potentially lower-cost alternative to a traditional brick-and-mortar air traffic control tower. They may also provide traffic flow efficiencies and improved situational awareness to pilots. Critical to advancing this RT program is the FAA’s newly developed Remote Tower Testbed which was scheduled to begin vendor testing in February 2025.
What is a Remote Tower?
While an air traffic control tower provides an out-the-window view of an airfield and nearby airspace for onsite controllers, a remote tower system uses sophisticated airfield cameras transmitting to state-of-the-art wraparound displays to mimic this same onsite view for controllers located in a Remote Tower Center. These centers can be sited and operated at locations off airport grounds. Of note also is that, unlike the large footprint of a traditional control tower, the RT camera structures occupy less space.
Previously, the RT Pilot Program had established two fielded test sites in the U.S., one at Leesburg Executive Airport (JYO) in Virginia, and one at Northern Colorado Regional Airport (FNL) in Colorado. FAA researchers subsequently determined that a centralized RT testbed would better meet the ultimate goals of the Pilot Program. Consequently, the FAA selected the Atlantic City International Airport (ACY) and the FAA laboratory space at the National Aerospace Research and Technology Park (NARTP) as the optimum site for a centralized remote tower testbed. Both ACY and the NARTP are campus tenants at the FAA’s William J. Hughes Technical Center.
“A centralized testbed approach allows for comprehensive system evaluations in a controlled environment,” says Shaquille Frederick, an engineer with the FAA’s Advanced Concepts and Procedures Branch. The ACY environment permits the evaluation of a variety of airport configurations and runway lengths. This reduces risk, ensures system suitability earlier in the process, and supports broader regulatory approvals compared to in-the-field testing.
Finding the Right Site
After an exhaustive location, siting, and coordination effort, three sites for the camera structures were selected at ACY: one near each Runway 13/31 threshold, and a main 360-degree camera site near the airfield’s center. The Remote Tower Center is located in the NARTP’s FAA lab space, more than a mile removed from the airfield. The distance between the airfield and the NARTP demonstrates the system’s flexibility by siting the Remote Tower Center wherever adequate space and appropriate infrastructure is available.
In addition to building out the Remote Tower Center and installing the airfield camera masts at the RT testbed, the FAA also provided voice communications equipment (for monitoring traffic), weather displays, and furniture. Vendors are responsible for supplying their entire system, including all remote tower equipment and the operating system.
“The testbed site is also designed to accommodate system customization,” adds Frederick. This includes the ability to adjust camera locations and configurations, enabling vendors to optimize their technologies for testing. Remote tower customization is permitted and encouraged provided it adheres to FAA minimum technical standards.
Vendor Contenders
Site acceptance testing of the RT testbed was successfully concluded last year, allowing vendors to begin submitting their RT system designs for approval. Vendors need to follow an intake process outlined in the RTS for Non-Federal Applications advisory circular. Those that pass the intake process will be evaluated at the FAA RT testbed. Functional acceptance evaluations with the first vendor were expected to begin in February 2025.
During these evaluations, data will be collected passively from the remote tower center while the ACY tower maintains control of traffic. The goal of these evaluations is to independently assess respective RT system capabilities in a robust operational environment. If a tested RT system meets FAA criteria and passes the operational evaluation, the FAA will grant the manufacturer a System Design Approval and place the system on a qualified vendor system list. The manufacturer may then sell its RT system to airports within the bounds of the design approval. The current projection for having an initial vendor-approved RT system available is 2027.
For more information on this process, including supporting guidance and process documents, go to the FAA’s RT system webpage.
Tom Hoffmann is the editor of FAA Safety Briefing. He is a commercial pilot and holds an A&P certificate.
