Is an Airborne System for Collision Avoidance Operationally and Technically Feasible?

Two years ago, the scheduled airline industry presented an analysis of the midair collision problem and asked the electronic manufacturing industry to help solve the problem. This paper is a brief status report on the progress to date. It explains why the airlines are interested in a proximity warning indicator, when actually a collision avoidance system is needed, and specifies the airline operational requirements for these two systems. Recent interest of infrared equipment manufacturers in the problem, indicates that this technique might provide, at least, a partial interim solution to the problem. The paper concludes that the field is wide open, providing an excellent opportunity for some manufacturer to make a name for himself by coming up with a satisfactory solution.