Frederick airport to be first in Maryland to use new FAA technology

Posted: 1:42 pm Tue, February 21, 2012
By Associated Press

FREDERICK — U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin says Frederick Municipal Airport will be the first general-aviation airport in Maryland using new technology to track aircraft.

Cardin made the announcement Tuesday at the airport, where he also toured a new, $5.3 million air traffic control tower.

The technology called ADS-B relies on global positioning satellites instead of radar to track aircraft. It also enables pilots to see other aircraft in the sky around them.

The FAA says ADS-B is superior to the current, radar-based air traffic control system.

An FAA funding bill signed into law earlier this month requires most aircraft operating within U.S. airspace to be equipped with some form ADS-B by Jan. 1, 2020.