scope:

The present document applies to the following radio equipment types:

• Very High Frequency (VHF) Digital Link (VDL) Mode 4 aeronautical mobile (airborne) radio transmitters, transceivers and receivers for air-ground and air-air communications operating in the VHF band, using Gaussian Filtered Frequency Shift Keying (GFSK) modulation with 25 kHz channel spacing and capable of tuning to any of the 25 kHz channels from 118,000 MHz to 136,975 MHz as defined in ICAO VDL SARPs [2].

The present document provides part 5 of the technical specifications.

The present document is designed to ensure that equipment certified to it will be compatible with the relevant ICAO VHF Digital Link (VDL) Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) [2] and VDL Mode 4 Technical Manual (TM) [1]. It also shows how the requirements can be traced to the ETSI interpretation of the EC 552/2004 [11] for the Single European Sky.

Manufacturers should note that in future the tuning range for the transmitter may also cover any 25 kHz channel from 112,000 MHz to 117,975 MHz and the receiver(s) may cover any 25 kHz channel from 108,000 MHz to 117,975 MHz.

The present document applies to "aeronautical mobile (airborne and in some cases ground vehicles)" equipment which will hereinafter be referred to as "mobile" equipment.

The scope of the present document is limited to mobile stations. The equivalent technical specification for ground stations is EN 301 842 series [9] and TS 101 842 [10].

The VDL Mode 4 system provides digital communication exchanges between aircraft and ground-based systems and other aircraft supporting surveillance and communication applications. The supported modes of communication include:

• broadcast and point-to-point communication;

• broadcast services including Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B), Traffic Information Service - Broadcast (TIS-B) and Flight Information Service - Broadcast (FIS-B) capabilities;

• air-air and ground-air services;

• operation without ground infrastructure.

The present document is derived from the specifications:

• VDL Mode 4 standards produced under the auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) [1] and [2].

• Other relevant standards as defined in clause 2.

It is envisaged that manufacturers may provide equipment supporting:

• broadcast services only;

• point-to-point services only;

• both broadcast and point-to-point services.

The present document includes:

• clause 2 provides references to relevant documents;

• Clause3 provides general definitions, abbreviations and symbols used;

• clause 4 refers to a general description and architecture of VDL Mode 4 contained in EN 302 842-2 [6];

• clause 5 provides tables tracing technical requirements specifications applicable to the interoperability Regulation [11];

• annex A provides a Bibliography;

• a document history.

Mandating and Recommendation Phrases

a) "Shall"

The use of the word "Shall" indicates a mandated criterion; i.e. compliance with the particular procedure or specification is mandatory and no alternative may be applied.

b) "Should"

The use of the word "Should" (and phrases such as "It is recommended that...", etc.) indicate that though the procedure or criterion is regarded as the preferred option, alternative procedures, specifications or criteria may be applied, provided that the manufacturer, installer or tester can provide information or data to adequately support and justify the alternative.