Classification of Mode S transponders by datalink capability

As the demand of air traffic increases, more detailed and updated aircraft information is required in order to enhance the safety and efficiency of air traffic. To accommodate this demand, the role of Mode S transponder is extending. Mode S transponder is one of the important media that provide realtime aircraft information with users not only on the ground but also in air. To design new applications and systems using ADS-B or DAPs, it is important to know which aircraft can provide information or what types of information the aircraft can provide. Fortunately, Mode S transponders hold information showing its own datalink capabilities. In this paper, we show that aircraft have various patterns of datalink capabilities. In addition, we introduce a method to classify Mode S transponders by datalink capabilities. By classification, we can have a better picture of Mode S transponder datalink capabilities equipage.