Microwave Landing System (MLS)

A. INTRODUCTION
The Microwave Landing System (MLS) was designed to replace ILS with an advanced precision approach system that would overcome the disadvantages of ILS and also provide greater flexibility to its users. MLS is a precision approach and landing system that provides position information and various ground to air data. The position information is provided in a wide coverage sector and is determined by an azimuth angle measurement, an elevation measurement and a range measurement.

2. Back azimuth; 3. Approach elevation; 4. Range; and 5. Data communications. With the exception of DME, all MLS signals are transmitted on a single frequency

communications with airport controllers, allowing long-distance frequencies to be handed over to other aircraft. In Australia, design work commenced on its version of an MLS in 1972. Most of this work was jointly done by the then Federal Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), and the

Radio Physics Division of the Commonwealth through time sharing. Two hundred channels Scientific and Industrial Research are available between 5031 and 5090.6 Organization (CSIRO). The project was called Megahertz (MHz). By transmitting a narrow Interscan, one of several microwave landing beam which sweeps across the coverage area systems under consideration internationally. at a fixed scan rate, both azimuth and Interscan was chosen by the FAA in 1975 elevation may be calculated by an airborne receiver which measures the time interval between sweeps. For the pilot, the MLS presentation will be similar to ILS with the use of a standard CDI or multi-function display, and by ICAO in 1978 as the format to be adopted. An engineered version of the system, called MITAN, was developed by industry (Amalgamated Wireless Australasia Limited and Hawker de Havilland) under a contract with DCA's successor, the Department of Transport, and successfully demonstrated at Melbourne Airport (Tullamarine) in the late 1970s. The white antenna dishes could still be seen at Tullamarine up till 2003 before it was dismantled. This initial research was followed by the formation of Interscan International limited in Sydney, Australia in 1979 who manufactured MLS systems that were subsequently deployed in the US, EU, Taiwan,

B. SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
The time-referenced scanning beam Microwave Landing System (MLS) has been adopted by ICAO as the standard precision

C. HISTORY
The US version of MLS was a joint

development between the FAA, NASA, and approach system to replace ILS. MLS provides the U.S. Department of Defense, was precision navigation guidance for alignment designed to provide precision navigation and descent of aircraft on approach to a landing by providing azimuth, elevation and distance. The system may be divided into five functions: 1. Approach azimuth; guidance for exact alignment and descent of aircraft on approach to a runway. It provides azimuth, elevation, and distance, as well as "back azimuth", for navigating from an aborted landing or missed approach. MLS channels were also used for short-range

China and Australia. The CAA in UK developed a version of the MLS which is installed at Heathrow and other airports due to the greater incidence of instrument approaches and Cat II/III weather there. GPS has not yet solved the critical problems needed to match the MLS international standard.

airborne equipment, and the time between each signal (less the guard time) relates to the angle from the reference line, which is the position of the beam when it starts its sweep. This can be seen in Fig 8-10. One fan-shaped beam sweeps horizontally to provide a position line in azimuth. At a different time, a horizontally orientated fan sweeps up and down in a similar fashion to

D. 2 Multiplexing Technology allows every piece of information from each of the azimuth and elevation beams to be obtained from signals on the same frequency. Each piece of information requires a very short time to obtain it. After one piece has been received it is used and stored until it is replaced. Meanwhile, another piece of information can be received, and again used and stored, then another. The total time taken to receive every piece of information required for the MLS system to function in this fashion is about 84 milliseconds. This is divided into specific periods or bands in which the individual pieces of information are transmitted (and received). This is called multiplexing. In addition to guidance information, auxiliary information is also sent during the multiplex transmission. This includes the station identification, safety information such as the minimum safe glideslope angle, and more sophisticated information such as system condition, weather and runway conditions which can be displayed on modern cockpit displays if fitted.

D. MLS OPERATION
In 1972 ICAO published an operational requirement for a new type of non-visual approach and landing guidance system. This was to use a method called 'Time Referenced Scanning Beam (TRSB) in the SHF band. Signals at these frequencies are commonly called 'microwaves', so the system became known as the microwave landing system or MLS. D.1 Time Referenced Scanning Beams

give a position line in elevation. The angle of approach is now known in both azimuth and elevation, and can be displayed in a similar fashion to that of ILS. The third part of the system consists of an accurate DME (precision DME or DME/P) signal to show the aircraft's position in from the station. The aircraft's position can thus be determined in three dimensions.

Basic Principle.

The idea is for a ground

station to sweep a narrow fan-shaped beam at a very accurate constant speed from one side of a sector to the other, then back again after a specific time interval (the 'guard time'). The signal will be received twice at the

Beams can also scan in the opposite direction, away from the approach path, to provide guidance to aircraft in the missed approach segment. These are also useful on climb out after take-off. There are also test pulses, to check the serviceability of the system, and indicator pulses to give general guidance in the area between the approach and missed approach segments to guide the aircraft into the approach segment. Other signals may be transmitted to give guidance at the flare on touchdown for Category III approaches. The time is not equally divided. azimuth signal. This indicates the greater danger of a rapid change in elevation angle compared with a change in azimuth angle. There are 40.5 elevation scans every second and 13.5 azimuth scans.

Azimuth Coverage.

In the approach

Elevation Guidance Coverage. The

specification for elevation coverage is slightly different. It only covers the approach sector, out to at least 20 nm, and within a horizontal angle which at least corresponds to that within which the azimuth proportional guidance is available. In elevation, the minimum coverage is from 0.9 to 7.5 above the horizontal, although it is azimuth approach sector.

segment, the horizontal area scanned by the guidance beams is +40 of the centerline, out to 22.5 nm from the station, although proportional guidance may be restricted to within 10 of the centerline. Vertically, the beams give guidance between 0.9 and 20 above the horizontal, up to 20000 ft, although again proportional guidance may There is a region over the runway in which coverage is provided from 8 ft up to 2000 ft and out to 150 m either side of the 20 either side of the centre line, and from 0.9 to 15 vertically, out to 10 nm from the station and up to 10000.

be restricted to a maximum elevation of 7.5. recommended that it cover the whole of the

Three elevation signals are received for every centerline. The missed approach segment is

Frequencies. There are 200 allocated

channels, spaced 300 kHz apart in the band between 5031.00 and 5090.70 MHz. Each station uses one channel for all its transmissions except the DME/P, which uses similar frequencies to a normal DME. The DME/P frequencies are automatically selected.

DME/P. Like the DME stations used for ILS

ranges, the DME/P is electronically adjusted to give ranges from touchdown. Correct indications are available within the coverage of the guidance beams in the approach sector.

E. INSTALLATION

All signals (except DME) are sent on a single frequency using time sharing. (each type of signal is sent in a specific order one after the other in quick succession; azimuth, elevation, data.)

microwave beam that is transmitted towards the sector of approach and scans the sector both in the horizontal as well as the vertical plane. An aircraft in the approach sector receives the signal and with the help of this beam evaluates its location in space. The aircrafts position is therefore determined both in the horizontal direction of approach and the vertical plane, in whatever point of reach of the scanning beam. Because the microwave technology is radiated into the space of approach in a given time and its not spread out over different directions, no signal interruption results from various obstacles or terrain protrusions as it was with the ILS system. The MLS system can thus be situated also in developed areas, where an ILS system couldnt be set up. An onboard computer enables to solve the approach manoeuvre from a random direction, for variously oriented runways, even along a curved of bend landing trajectory. The MLS system is approved by the ICAO for every three categories of an accurate landing approach. ILS DISADVANTAGES - There are only 40 channels available worldwide. - The azimuth and glideslope beams are fixed and narrow. As a result, aircraft have to

F. MLS VS ILS
ILS LIMITATIONS The Instrument Landing System (ILS) has Azimuth transmitter at far end of runway. Elevation transmitter at near end of runway. Narrow beams sweep across coverage area at a fixed scan rate. Aircraft receiver measures the time interval between sweeps and calculates azimuth and altitude. Horizontal and lateral navigation information is displayed on the aircraft CDI, HSI, or MFD. (similar to ILS) A precision DME/P installation is incorporated into the system. served as the standard precision approach and landing aid for the last 40 years. During this time it has served well and has undergone a number of improvements to increase its performance and reliability. However, in relation to future aviation requirements, the ILS has a number of basic limitations: 1. site sensitivity and high installation costs; 2. single approach path; 3. multi path interference; and 4. channel limitations - 40 channels only. The MLS provides an accurate landing approach for an aircraft in the area of the final approach, where the path of the final approach isnt identical with the enlonged runways axis. The system works with a

be sequenced and adequately separated which causes landing delays. -There are no special procedures available for slower aircraft, helicopters, and Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) aircraft. - ILS cannot be sited in hilly areas and it requires large expanses of flat, cleared land to minimize interference with the localizer and glideslope beams.

guidance 20 of runway direction up to 15 of 10,000 ft. - It operates in the SHF band, 5031 - 5090 MHZ. This enables it to be sited in hilly areas without having to level the site. Course deviation errors (bending) of the localizer and glidepath caused by aircraft, vehicles and buildings are no longer a problem because the MLS scanning beam can

- The aim is for all MLS equipped aircraft to

in elevation to a range of 10 nm and a height operate to CAT III criteria. PRINCIPLE MLS employs 5GHz transmitters at the landing place which use passive electronically scanned rays to send scanning beams towards approaching aircraft. An aircraft that enters the scanned volume uses a special receiver that calculates its position by measuring the arrival times of the beams. MLS ADVANTAGES As previously mentioned, ILS has limitations which prohibit or restrict its use in many circumstances. MLS not only eliminates these problems; but also offers many advantages over ILS including: 1. elimination of ILS/FM broadcast interference problems; 2. provision of ail-weather coverage up to 60 degrees from runway centerline, from 0.9 degree to 15 degrees in elevation, and out of 20 nautical miles (NM); 3. capability to provide precision guidance to small landing areas such as roof-top heliports;

-Vehicles, taxying aircraft, low-flying aircraft be interrupted and therefore avoids the and buildings have to be kept well away from reflections. the transmission sites to minimize localizer and glideslope course deviations (bending of the beams). THE MLS SYSTEM The Microwave Landing System (MLS) has the following features: -There are 200 channels available worldwide. - The azimuth coverage is at least 40 of the runway on-course line (QDM) and glideslopes from .9 to 20 can be selected. The usable range is 20-30 nm from the MLS site; 20nm in the UK. - There is no problem with back-course transmissions; a secondary system is provided to give overshoot and departure -Because of its increased azimuth and elevation coverage aircraft can choose their own approaches. This will increase runway utilization and be beneficial to helicopters and STOL aircraft. -The MLS has a built-in DME. - MLS is compatible with conventional localizer and glide path instruments, EFIS, auto- pilot systems and area navigation equipment. - MLS gives positive automatic landing indications plus definite and continuous on/off flag indications for the localizer and glideslope needles. -The identification prefix for the MLS is an M followed by two letters.

4. continuous availability of a wide range of glide paths to accommodate STOL and VTOL aircraft and helicopters; 5. accommodation of both segments and curved approaches; 6. availability of 200 channels - five times more than ILS; 7. potential reduction of Category I (CAT l) minimums; 8. improved guidance quality with fewer flight path corrections required; 9. provision of back-azimuth for missed approaches and departure guidance; 10. elimination of service interruptions caused by snow accumulation; and 11. lower site preparation, repair, and maintenance costs. THE MLS DISADVANTAGES Expensive: the initial expense of the infrastructure set up and aircraft equipment installation. New alternatives: GNSS is emerging as the mainstream RNAV system for civil aviation. With market forces driving GPS usage it is destined to be the system of the future.

MLS will be limited to specialized applications, such as military MMLS.

configuration of an Azimuth Transmitter (AZ) with an added DME rangefinder, perhaps even a more precise DME/P, in close distance of a course transmitter and near an elevation transmitter, see Fig. 1. A scaled up configuration is supplemented with a course transmitter for an unsuccessful approach and a flare transmitter. An MLS azimuth guidance station with rectangular azimuth scanning antenna with

I. OTHER INFORMATION
BASIC ELEMENTS The MLS system is comprised of ground pieces of equipment that are divided into the protractor components, rangefinder

DME antenna at left. Compared to the existing ILS system, MLS had significant advantages. The antennas were much smaller, due to using a higher frequency signal. They also did not have to be located at a specific point at the airport,

components, and the onboard hardware. The and could "offset" their signals electronically. This made placement at the airports much information about the angles of the approach course, descent, flare and the course of an unsuccessful approach are acquired through an onboard antenna or the aircraft itself by measuring the time between two passages of an oscillating lobe of a high frequency signal. The distance is determined with the help of an ancillary device, the DME rangefinder. The MLS system further sends with the help of phase modulation and timedivision multiplexing additional data, as identification, system status and so on. The ground equipment consists in the basic simpler compared to the large ILS systems, which had to be placed at the ends of the runways and along the approach path. Another advantage was that the MLS signals covered a very wide fan-shaped area off the end of the runway, allowing controllers to vector aircraft in from a variety of directions or guide aircraft along a segmented approach. In comparison, ILS could only guide the aircraft down a single straight line, requiring controllers to distribute planes along that line. MLS allowed aircraft to

approach from whatever direction they were already flying in, as opposed to flying to a parking orbit before "capturing" the ILS signal. This was particularly interesting to larger airports, as it potentially allowed the aircraft to be separated horizontally until much closer to the airport. Similarly in elevation, the fan shape coverage allows for variation in approach angle making MLS particularly suited to aircraft with steep approach angles such as helicopters, fighters and the space shuttle. An MLS elevation guidance station. Unlike ILS, which required a variety of frequencies to broadcast the various signals, MLS used a single frequency, broadcasting the azimuth and altitude information one after the other. This reduced frequency contention, as did the fact that the frequencies used were well away from FM broadcasts, another problem with ILS. Additionally, MLS offered two hundred channels, making the possibility of extremely remote. Finally, the accuracy was greatly improved over ILS. For instance, standard DME equipment used with ILS offered range accuracy of only +/- 1200 feet. MLS improved this to +/- 100 ft in what they

referred to as DME/P (for precision), and altitude. This allowed MLS to guide the extremely accurate CAT III approaches, whereas this normally required expensive ground-based high precision radar. Similar to other precision landing systems, lateral and vertical guidance may be displayed on conventional course deviation indicators or incorporated into multipurpose cockpit displays. Range information can also be displayed by conventional DME indicators and also incorporated into multipurpose displays. It was originally intended that ILS would remain in operation until 2010 before being replaced by MLS. The system was only being installed experimentally in the 1980s when the FAA began to favor GPS. Even in the worst cases, GPS offered at least 300 ft accuracy, not as good as MLS, but much better than ILS. Additionally, GPS worked "everywhere", not just off the end of the instrument could replace both short and long-range navigation systems, offer better accuracy than either, and required no ground-based equipment. The major issues with GPS, namely 2 feet vertical guidance accuracy near the runway

threshold and the integrity of the system has standards and practices. Additional GPS accuracy could be provided by sending out "correcting signals" from ground-based stations, which would improve the accuracy to about 10 m in the worst case, far outperforming MLS. Initially it was planned to send these signals out over short-range FM transmissions on commercial radio frequencies, but this proved to be too difficult to arrange. Today a similar signal is instead sent across all of North America via commercial satellites, in a system known as WAAS. However WAAS is not capable of providing CAT II or CAT III standard signals (those required for autolanding) and so a Local Area Augmentation System, or LAAS, must be used.

offered similar improvements in azimuth and not been able to match historical ICAO

contention between airports in the same area runways. This meant that a single navigation