"NextGen is here!" That statement made by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in late May is a bit hyperbolized, but there can be no doubt that a major building block for the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) now officially is here. LaHood's proclamation accompanied an announcement of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) ruling for equipage for Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) "Out."

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla., 30 June 2010. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is awarding contracts worth nearly $2 billion to Metron Aviation Inc. of Dulles, Va., and Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. of McLean, Va., for technology development and other engineering work related to the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) future air traffic management program. The contracts are the last in a set of awards for engineering work that will upgrade the nation’s airspace and air traffic control systems to NextGen technology.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., 30 June 2010. Air traffic management experts at the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif., are working with academia to find the most efficient avionics designs that enable passenger aircraft to descend safely and efficiently to their destination airports through heavy traffic and with minimal fuel burn. NASA Ames researchers are looking to air traffic control experts at the University of California at Santa Cruz to incorporate 3D path arrival management (3D-PAM) capability into en route descent advisor (EDA) software for potential use in the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen).

MADRID, Spain, 29 June 2010. The European Commission and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officially concluded negotiations of a memorandum of cooperation in civil aviation research and development. The Memorandum and a first technical Annex promotes interoperability between the FAA's next Generation Air Transportation system (NextGen) and Europe's next generation air traffic management (ATM) system -- Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR).

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, 25 June 2010. Air traffic controllers in the Alaska region are now officially using Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) technology to improve safety and efficiency in Alaska's rugged terrain, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials say. The system -- Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) -- is a core technology under NextGen.

SAVANNAH, Ga., 25 June 2010. Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to provide Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) functionality on Gulfstream G150 aircraft. The optional WAAS-capable receiver can be installed on new G150s during final-phase manufacturing or as a retrofit on all in-service G150 aircraft.

WACO, Texas, 24 June 2010. FreeFlight Systems announced its 1203 satellite-based augmentation system/global positioning system (SBAS/GPS) was selected and installed on Icelandair's B757-200 fleet as part of their ADS-B program which received an STC from EASA earlier this year.

CHICAGO Ill., 15 June 2010. navAero announced the achievement of an STC of the t-BagC2² Class 2 electronic flight bag (EFB) STC for the Boeing 747-400 aircraft.

HANOI, Vietnam, 12 June 2010. Northrop Grumman Corp.'s (NYSE:NOC) Europe-based air traffic management subsidiary, Northrop Grumman Park Air Systems in Oslo, Norway, won contracts to provide air traffic control tower communications equipment and a surface movement guidance and control system at the Noi Bai International Airport, Hanoi, the largest airport in northern Vietnam.

SAN DIEGO, 4 June 2010. Major airlines are beginning to use features of the future NextGen air traffic management system in what one senior pilot calls a "NowGen" approach to aeronautical navigation that aims at reducing noise, greenhouse emissions, and wasteful fuel use.

SAN DIEGO, 1 June 2010. The 2010 Avionics USA conference and exhibition is beign held this Thursday and Friday this week -- June 3 – 4, 2010 -- at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego.

ELKRIDGE, Md., 29 May 2010 The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) selected Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE:NOC) to provide national maintenance services and logistic support of several critical FAA communications products and systems, including the Integrated Communications Switching System (ICSS), Rapid Deployment Voice Switching System (RDVS), Enhanced Terminal Voice Switch (ETVS), and Small Tower Voice Switch (STVS).

WASHINGTON, 28 May 2010. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials announced the performance requirements for aircraft tracking equipment that will be required under the Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen. The avionics will allow aircraft to be controlled and monitored with greater precision and accuracy by a satellite-based system called Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B).

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., 27 May 2010. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today awarded three separate Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) contracts totaling as much as $4.4 billion over 10 years. Under the contracts, the companies will perform work that will demonstrate NextGen procedures in real time on a large scale within the current air traffic system.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., 23 May 2010. U.S. commercial airlines are skeptical of the government’s ability to move fast enough on future air traffic control technology to justify any investments the airlines might make in the Next Generation Air Transportation System -- otherwise known as NextGen -- according to a report by the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass.

FAIRFAX, Va., 22 May 2010. Era a.s., a subsidiary of SRA International, Inc. (NYSE: SRX), announced that its next-generation surveillance solutions for Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH (DFS) at Munich and Hamburg airports have been installed and are now operational. The Era solutions are being integrated into each airport's advanced-surface management guidance and control systems.

BRUSSELS, Belgium, 21 May 2010 Following an open call for tenders, SESAR Joint Undertaking officials signed a framework contract with the European Low Fares Airlines Association (ELFAA) to include its expertise in the execution of the SESAR work program. For this contract, the association has secured the confirmed participation of three ELFAA airline members -- Ryanair, Jet 2.com, and Flybe.

WASHINGTON, 18 May 2010. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) National Geodetic Survey -- the official U.S. government source for determining precise latitude, longitude, and elevation -- is undergoing a modernization effort that takes into account advances in GPS and other technologies.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., 12 May 2010. The Atlantic City International Airport, located at the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) Technical Center, is the first in the national airspace system to deliver digital notices to airmen (NOTAM). NOTAMs provide computer-generated safety information to pilots and air traffic controllers about conditions at an airport such as construction and hazards.