IMPLEMENTING ATM IN TODAY’S T&E RANGE

Abstract

Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) is a technology that is experiencing tremendous growth in the commercial telecommunications sector. Leveraging commercial investment and introducing ATM into today’s flight test range, while ensuring that all requirements are satisfied, are paying large dividends in capability and efficiency. The flight test community imposes unique requirements specifically with regards to telemetry that are not the norm of the commercial telecommunications industry. Efforts are underway at the Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC), Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) to implement an ATM system for all range communications. This paper addresses the unique requirements imposed by the flight test community, a revolutionary breakthrough from a commercial ATM vendor, and other challenges experienced while implementing this system. The system being implemented at Edwards will carry all types of range data over SONET/ATM hybrid equipment and interface to other flight test ranges and facilities over a mix of commercial leased lines and dedicated microwaves.