ARINC 718A-2

Purpose of this Characteristic

This characteristic describes a standard Mark 4 Air TrafficControl Transponder (ATCRBS/Mode S) with Extended InterfaceFunctions (EIF). The document defines equipment capable ofsupporting Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS)functions, and advanced surveillance capabilities defined by theInternational Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as CNS/ATM,Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), Extended(112-bit) Squitter, and the enhanced Surveillance capabilitiesprovided by the ICAO definitions in the Manual on Mode S SpecificServices are supported. This unit is specifically designed forinstallation in commercial transport type aircraft.

This characteristic also provides design guidance for thedevelopment and installation of a Mark 4 transponder with ExtendedInterface Functions (EIF) intended primarily for airline use. Itdescribes the desired operational capabilities and definesstandards which are necessary to achieve interchangeability.

This characteristic provides standards for:

Form factor

Control features

Connector pin allocation

Interwiring

Interfaces

These provisions will promote interchangeability of equipmentfrom different manufacturers. The minimum operational andperformance capabilities of this unit are further described in therelated RTCA and EUROCAE Minimum Operational Performance Standards(MOPS) documents for the Mode S transponder and the Airborne DataLink Processor (refer to Section 3.1 for additional documentreferences).

COMMENTARY

This characteristic, as a minimum, describes an ICAO level 2transponder. This is the minimum ICAO transponder level needed tocomply with European requirements for Mode S ElementarySurveillance. Provisions for Mode S Enhanced Surveillance areprovided as an option. Provisions for ADS-B have also been includedto the extent that RTCA standards for ADS-B were available at thetime of publication of this document.

Edition:

09

Published:

02/23/2009

Number of Pages:

288

File Size:

1 file , 1.3 MB