In order to further promote the development of aviation safety support system, CAAC recently issued the Roadmap for the Building and Implementation of a Civil Aircraft Tracking and Surveillance System (hereinafter referred to as the Roadmap), which specified that CAAC will keep improving civil aviation operation information monitoring system, comprehensively enhance China’s ability of civil aircraft global tracking & surveillance, and build a civil aircraft tracking and surveillance system with proprietary intellectual property rights by the end of 2025.

The Roadmap, on the basis of China’s practical situation, proposes an overall objective on aircraft tracking for CAAC from now to 2025, which is to build a civil aircraft tracking and surveillance system, so as to realize continuous surveillance, safety management and emergency response for the global operation of Chinese civil aircraft; to promote the application of home-made equipment such as Beidou in civil aviation, and to proactively push forward the world-wide application and leading role of technology and standards with proprietary intellectual property rights; and to establish and continuously improve relevant operation regulations and standards system, facility and equipment test and verification system, and personnel training and technical support system. In order to reach the overall objective, the Roadmap specifies multiple key tasks in the five aspects of formulation of regulations and standards, aircraft tracking capacity building for operators, aircraft location information sharing, cooperation and coordination, and publicity and training.

The Roadmap indicates that the building of the civil aircraft tracking and surveillance system will be divided into three phases, i.e. the present stage (2015-2016), the short-term stage (2017-2020) and the long-term stage (2021-2025). At present, CAAC has realized 4D/15 tracking of overseas flights based on current technology, which is to track each aircraft in flight and update its 4D location information (longitude, latitude, altitude, and time) from the ground every 15 minutes or in even shorter time intervals,. All of the 19 air transport companies with qualifications for international passenger transport operations have completed the supplementary operation certification for aircraft tracking and surveillance. According to the Roadmap, by the end of 2020, CAAC will realize seamless global tracking of flights based on air traffic management information such as secondary radar, ADS-B and emerging surveillance and communication technologies such as broadband aviation communications; by the end of 2025, CAAC will put in place a global aircraft tracking system based on proprietary intellectual property rights, which will mainly include the manufacturing, testing and airworthiness certification of “Beidou” system, satellite-based ADS-B system, satellite communication system and airborne equipment, and complete the formulation of relevant standards.

In February 2015, ICAO adopted the concept of GADSS (Global Aeronautical Distress and Safety System) operation, and proposed to carry out aircraft tracking and surveillance at the three levels of Normal, Abnormal and ADT. In 2015, CAAC set up a leadership group for building a civil aircraft tracking and surveillance system and proposed the overall objective of implementing aircraft tracking and surveillance in three phases. Afterwards, CAAC carried out regional verification pilot projects for aircraft tracking, formulated and issued the Guidelines for the Implementation of Routine Aircraft Tracking and Surveillance for Air Carriers and guiding materials for regional demonstration and verification of aircraft tracking and surveillance for air carriers, and has been able to carry out global routine tracking and surveillance of passenger aircraft since December 1, 2016.