Integrated Air Surveillance Concept of Operations - Joint Planning ...

Integrated Air Surveillance Concept of Operations
Appendix B: Terms and Definitions
Note: The definitions were derived from the reference documents located in Appendix A of the
IS ConOps, complete with parenthetical numbers in bold—e.g., (1) (2) (3) (69) (70)—that refer
to the reference documents.
Air Domain: The global airspace, including domestic, international and foreign airspace, as well
as all manned and unmanned aircraft operating, and people and cargo present in that airspace,
and all aviation-related infrastructures. (1) (2) (35)
Air Domain Awareness: The effective understanding of threats associated with the Air Domain
that could impact the security, safety, or economy of the United States. (1) (9) (10) (35)
Air Domain Surveillance: The process for gathering information about the nature, position, or
movement of a target or targets in the Air Domain (global airspace). Aviation security partners
must regularly assess existing and future sensors requirements and, where appropriate, Federal
departments and agencies must synchronize efforts to develop and integrate new and emerging
technologies and capabilities to persistently monitor, detect, identify and track aircraft in those
areas of national interest, both within and outside the United States. (1) (7)
Air Surveillance System: The sensors, automation systems and data distribution associated with
the Air Domain. (1) (2)
Aircraft: A machine that can derive support in the atmosphere from the reactions of the air other
than the reactions of the air against the earth’s surface (as in the case of a rocket or missile). An
aircraft can include a fixed-wing structure, rotorcraft, lighter-than-air vehicle, or a vehicle
capable of leaving the atmosphere for space flight. (8) (4)
Airspace Situational Awareness: The shared cognizance and understanding of the present
events—as well as an evaluation of the risks, threats, vulnerabilities and potential
consequences—which transpire in the Air Domain. This activity is accomplished through an
interconnected network of machines and personnel communicating data and information about
the event in real time. (2)
Anomalous Activity Alert: An alert or warning notification in the form of a pop-up window,
service report, email, or other computational signifier that indicates the non-normal behavior
(anomalous activity) of an aircraft and which is automatically transmitted to ATO security and
DHS, together with the ATM flight information indicating the aircraft’s last know position.
Anomalous Behavior: Behavior that is non-normal, indicating that a person, object, or other
entity should be put under surveillance. (1) (2) (6) (8)
Anomalous Operations: see Non-Normal Operations
Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B): An advanced surveillance
technology that allows avionics to broadcast an aircraft’s identification, position, altitude,
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