Military Airborne Surveillance System (MASS™)

Product overview

This military-specific application from ACSS (an Acron Aviation and Thales joint venture) was developed from our commercial surveillance system and addresses unique requirements of the military. This set of technologies is known as Military Airborne Surveillance System (MASS™) and is based on commercial Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) technology.

MASS is a complete integrated communication and surveillance system designed specifically for the needs of military operators. The ACSS Cooperative Member functionality, a subset of MASS, results from a software change to the T3CAS™ technology and the Mode S/IFF Transponder for a system able to support unique military flight requirements, including formation flight and rendezvous operations in commercial airspace.

Aviation Communication & Surveillance Systems (ACSS)

Aviation Communication & Surveillance Systems (ACSS) is a joint venture between Acron Aviation and Thales. ACSS designs and manufactures products for all aircraft and helicopter segments, and supports products for air transport and regional airlines, business aviation, and helicopter, general aviation, manned and unmanned military aircraft operators. ACSS produces avionics systems that increase safety, situational awareness, and efficiency for commercial and military flight operators.

Key features

Compliant with air traffic control guidelines

The use of ADS-B surveillance and adaptive interrogation techniques minimize RF interference during formation flights to maintain compatibility in the civil ATC environment. The system includes cooperative member identification using ASD-B Flight ID, or Mode 3/A or Mode 2 identifier, unique cockpit display characteristics for cooperative members, and the ability to select an aircraft for display of specific aircraft data. MASS inhibits the normal TCAS alerts for cooperative member aircraft to facilitate formation flight and refueling operations without nuisance TCAS alerts. Other highlights include enhanced surveillance volume and the ability to support clustering of up to 30 aircraft.

No platform, clustering or altitude restrictions

When Cooperative Flight Mode is not selected, the system will perform normally as a TCAS/ACAS II collision avoidance system. Other highlights include higher resolution ranges for close-in operations and formation/rendezvous capabilities within civil airspace.

Customer support