Thursday, 17 January 2002: 1:29 PM
Future plans for the FAA's Weather and Radar Processor (WARP)
WARP is the primary source for weather information at the FAA’s en route air traffic control centers (ARTCC) and the air traffic control system command center (ATCSCC). These centers play a critical role in adjusting air travel as weather conditions change throughout the nation. WARP was designed to meet the special needs of the air traffic controller and the FAA’s center meteorologists. Initially, WARP provided weather data to the controllers via separate briefing terminals scattered throughout the centers. Beginning in 2001, WARP began to directly interface with numerous other automated air traffic systems. For example, WARP provides high-resolution upper level wind forecasts from the rapid update cycle (RUC) model to a special aircraft trajectory model that is part of the FAA’s Free Flight program. In addition, WARP now sends special state-of-the-art NEXRAD mosaics directly to the controllers display system replacement (DSR) consoles enabling them to overlay aircraft positions with the NEXRAD data. In the coming years many other FAA system will rely on WARP to provide their weather data. This presentation will describe how WARP and these various systems work together to reduce weather-related delays. We will also discuss some of the unique technical challenges confronted by WARP.
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