Are Helo ADS-B Requirements Coming under ATC Modernization?

Operators of general aviation aircraft, which includes all civil helicopters, must get on board with ADS-B equipage to facilitate denser airspace that accommodates additional traffic, such as drones and eVTOLs, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said Tuesday morning during a regulator fireside talk at Verticon 2026. The session, moderated by VAI president and CEO François Lassale, also featured remarks from EASA executive director Florian Guillermet.

“We’ll break some glass in the process [of ATC modernization], and some will feel like they’re being left out. That could be in the general aviation community, for example, and [incorporates] this idea of ADS-B electronic conspicuity,” Bedford said. “We need all aircraft to broadcast…to tighten up separation. We have to have a lot higher fidelity on where aircraft are. I don’t know why this is proving to be so difficult.”

Asked by Lassale to look 10 years into the future of U.S. ATC modernization, the FAA chief demurred, saying, “This is a big challenge, and we don’t even want to talk 10 years into the future. The problem with NextGen is that it always was 20 years into the future. We need to fix stuff today. I’m here to tell you we are going to modernize the national airspace within three years.”

Bedford does not lack vision when it comes to the goal of ATC modernization—he envisions a more proactive (rather than today’s reactive) system that will enable more efficient use of airspace. “The whole safety regime in the U.S. is about keeping planes far apart from each other. If we continue this structure, the sky’s capped.

“If we want to create more capacity, reducing separation standards and going to trajectory flying is the only way to do that. We need to go from imprecise to precise.” That likely means regulations requiring ADS-B, potentially including portable units, for helicopters and lighter piston airplanes.

Guillermet was more introspective, noting that ATC modernization in Europe needs to be a mix of short- and long-term thinking. As a former air traffic controller, he brings a unique perspective to the similar effort across the pond, though he acknowledged that the same ATC systems he used 30 years ago are largely still in use today.

“I think part of this 10-year vision is definitely the sort of trajectory-based operation,” he said. “An aircraft or a vehicle, it’s just one point in space that we take into account the full trajectory so that we can process it with strategic negotiation.”

Trajectory-based ATC systems would allow for strategic traffic deconfliction before aircraft leave the ground and tighter separation standards, both agency leaders said. This would also reduce ground congestion at airports, they added.

“If I try to project myself in 10 years ahead, I wish we are still able to further improve the level of safety in this aviation system because there will be more objects and there will be more traffic, so we need to make sure that we improve the system compared to what it is today while maintaining the same level of safety.”