Microwave Landing System Area Navigation

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPS) states that the Time Reference Scanning Beam (TRSB) Microwave Landing System will supplant the existing Instrument Landing System (ILS) as the recognized international standard as early as 1995. The MLS provides the ability to determine the aircraft´s position in three dimensional space over a large coverage volume in the airport terminal area. This affords the capability to navigate and execute approaches throughout this volume of coverage. This technique is known as Microwave Landing System Area Navigation (MLS RNAV). In order to assess and further develop the potential capabilities of MLS RNAV, the FAA Technical Center has undertaken the tasks of performing analytical studies, as well as the development of a prototype MLS RNAV system.