What to make of all this?

ADS-B is no replacement for see and avoid. It sounds like military aircraft or non-equipped civilian aircraft can simply appear in your windscreen if you don't scan for traffic as you proceed on your way.

I would beg to differ, we have the capability to turn Mode S on and off on our transponders, when on, you will appear on ADSB Radar. I fly with a Stratus 3 and am always getting traffic alerts when flying formation flights.

Strangle the parrot

My observations..
 

My day job is maintenance oversight of very large Military aircraft, some of the stuff mentioned applies, and some not. I do crew air briefings once a month or so, and share RV stories with the like minded crews..they like to be seen also when need be. My "play job" is like most of us, flying our RV's safely, and as of now, I do not have ADSB in my -4, but will soon. However, in the past couple years or so, while flying in group gaggles with others en route to wherever, the ADSB in guys often spend so much time looking at the scrceens and relaying positions of passing aircraft (I often cant even spot) that it makes me wonder if they are ever looking out the window and flying their own plane..we all need to keep our grass roots awareness in check!

Most
 

That?s why I said most, not all.

Sooo....

Who wants to bet the Military pays $50,000 or more per aircraft to install a basic Mode S transponder?

Crikee, they could just install the uAvionix echoUAT - $1,000 - hooked to the standard transponder, and have a separate power switch to kill it for actual missions. Then all those pilots using their iPads could see traffic, too... :D

I think you?ll find military transponder requirements go well beyond what the echoUAT or equivalents can do.

Our C130J fleet just got a transponder upgrade with ADSB. But it also includes mode 1, mode 2, mode 5 NATO compatible military identification, and then all of that has to be interfaced with mission computer software which is both proprietary owned and classified and will need code rewritten or added, and wired to various communication interfaces, then extensively tested so we don?t get shot down by our own side.

It?s not a trivial installation job..... and I?ll bet it cost a darn sight more than $50k per airframe! :)

Yup and these requirements go way beyond what even high $$$ civilian transponders do. No Mode 1,2,4,5 or other military modes that civilians (even the FAA) ever see.

:cool:

No kidding - I did fly with Mode S/IFF and IPX in the Phantom, and understand there are MILITARY transponder needs. Those are (presumably) already taken care of. My post was SOLELY about retrofitting civilian ADS-B out capability. It shouldn't cost $50k per aircraft, and the unit I mentioned is so small they could locate it just about anywhere.

And, you've just about made my point for me - that the military sourcing weenies would be inclined to replace a brand new transponder just to add one additional feature. ;)

I shoulda become a military equipment supplier when I got out...

Not sure I agree with that!

Unlike the Phantom, where avionics were driven by hamsters running in small wheel cages, modern military aircraft are driven by software.

So for example the first military aircraft I flew had the exact same transponder unit as the Phantom had (which in the day was pretty much a universal standard for any military aircraft manufactured by an American aerospace company), with its thumbwheel code settings, press-to-test lights, etc. With these hardwired interfaces, maybe adding a new ADSB capability would be easier if you could find avionics rack space for it. You just can't do that now. It's all written into software and controlled by multifunction displays. You don't just fasten a new box to the avionics rack, connect a few wires, and off you go now with ADSB. I do take your point about the military paying too much for everything though. That's just SOP. :)