scope:

Purpose. A primary purpose of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the collection, analysis, and redistribution of weather information required to support the National Airspace System (NAS). The source of weather information is generically termed "AWOS" within this document, except where noted in specific cases (see glossary), and shall be taken to include the following actual systems and their operators:

(a) AWOS (Automated Weather Observing System): Non-federal and federally funded commercial systems.

(b) ASOS (Automated Surface Observing System): National Weather Service (NWS).

(c) AOS (Automated Observing System): Department of Defense.

This specification establishes the requirements for the ADAS (AWOS (Automated Weather Observing System) Data Acquisition System). The specification details the functional, performance, and interface requirements of the ADAS, and consolidates general requirements for ADAS characteristics, processing resources, quality factors, logistics, qualification, and delivery.