Senators Move To Strike Measure Easing Military ADS-B Mandate

Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and ranking member Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) jointly filed an amendment to strike Section 373 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) ahead of full Senate consideration this week, saying the measure would roll back safety measures surrounding military aircraft flights. In addition, the lawmakers filed an amendment to swap the controversial measure with the ROTOR Act that would strengthen requirements surrounding ADS-B use for military and civilian aircraft as well as transparency between the Departments of Defense and Transportation.

Already passed the House and to come up for a cloture vote in the Senate this afternoon, the $900 billion fiscal NDAA has drawn fire for Section 373, which NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy warned would allow the military to bypass safety protocols put in place after the January 29 midair collision between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and a PSA Airlines CRJ700 outside of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Section 373 would prohibit military helicopter training missions in “covered airspace” unless they are actively warning nearby commercial aircraft in a manner compatible with a traffic alert and collision avoidance system—essentially the requirement in place before January 29.

“Our colleagues on the Armed Services Committees are just plain wrong that their last-minute language will make things safer. It does the exact opposite, as the NTSB made clear yesterday,” the senators said in a joint statement after the bill language was released last week. “The NDAA weakens current law by letting military aircraft use less effective technology than ADS-B Out when the military is already required by law to have ADS-B on its aircraft. It also puts into federal statute authority for the military to waive transmission of ADS-B Out, which the military already has the authority to do—and it abused—leading to a key factor in the January 29th DCA crash.”

Joining Cantwell and Cruz in this push were Senate aviation subcommittee chair Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) and ranking member Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois), along with Sen. Mark Warner (D-Virginia).