EU Nearer to Harmonizing IFR Rules for Military Aircraft
Six years of work went into the specifications that have been sent to 38 member states, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation said Nov. 8.
Eurocontrol, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, has completed and sent to the 38 member states its specifications to harmonize rules in the European Union for Operational Air Traffic under instrument flight rules inside controlled airspace of the ECAC Area (EUROAT), which is designed to provide this standardized regulatory framework to enhance civil-military cooperation and t cooperation between the countries' armed forces.
The Brussels, Belgium-based agency on Nov. 8 said six years of joint efforts between experts from its directorate of civil-military ATM coordination and experts from the member states went into preparing the pre-implementation edition of the specifications.
"The aim is to achieve a widespread national implementation across Europe and a resulting entry into force of the EUROAT around 1 October 2011," the agency announced.
"The EUROAT is intended to become a single source document for aircrews flying under OAT within the airspace of Europe and to provide Air Traffic Control Officers with enhanced predictability on military aircrew actions under normal and emergency conditions," said Jean Robert Cazarré, director of Civil-Military Air Traffic Management Coordination and SES Implementation. "Therefore, due to the achieved regulatory harmonization, the level of safety will increase within the airspace of all Member States that have implemented the EUROAT."