Precision runway monitor

II The prevalence of delay in scheduled airline flights in recent years has caused great interest in the use of new technologies that promise increased airport capacity, especially in poor weather. One consequence of this interest in new technologies is development of the Precision Runway Monitor (PRM) system. The PRM system uses enhanced radar and display capabilities combined with automatic safety alerts to allow safe operation of independently sequenced approaches, in instrument meteorological conditions, to parallel runways separated by less than 4300 feet (the current minimum separation without PRM). During the past several years, Lincoln Laboratory has carried out a development program for the PRM that has included field data collections, demonstrations, performance evaluation, and risk analysis. Partly on the basis of the results of this program, the FAA recently authorized independently sequenced approaches to parallel runways separated by 3400 feet or more, when these approaches are monitored with a PRM system. The FAA also initiated an implementation program to install PRM systems at several major U.S. airports. This article reports the results of field activities carried out by Lincoln Laboratory; the use of these results to verifY the performance and safety of the PRM system, and continuing development that is part of the Lincoln Laboratory PRM program.