Broadcast Revolution: Discussing Matters with SCATANA on Air
In times of crisis, the safety of the skies is paramount. That's where the SCATANA plan comes into play. This strategic initiative brings together military, aviation, and communications authorities, including the Department of Defense, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), to make critical decisions regarding the shutdown of the entire air traffic system.
The SCATANA plan is designed to address both Defense Emergencies and Air Defense Emergencies. A Defense Emergency refers to an outright attack on the United States, overseas forces, or allied forces, while an Air Defense Emergency is a more specific aircraft or missile attack on the continental U.S., Canada, Alaska, or U.S. military installations in Greenland.
One of the key aspects of the SCATANA plan is the management of radio navigation aids. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) holds jurisdiction over these aids, and the SCATANA plan provides procedures to shut down the Very High Frequency (VHF) Omni-directional Range (VOR) network in case of emergencies.
The VOR system, a global system of short-range beacons used by aircraft to determine their direction of travel, is the one with the most impact on wartime security. Each VOR station encodes azimuth information by the phase difference between two synchronized 30 Hz signals modulated onto the carrier. In times of emergency, VOR stations, along with VOR/DME, Instrument Landing System (ILS), Microwave Landing System (MLS), Low Frequency (LF) and High Frequency (HF) non-directional beacons, are subject to shutdown by the FCC.
The FAA's Minimum Operational Network plan aims to retire all but 580 VOR stations. However, during an emergency, the SCATANA order, passed to the FAA's network of 22 Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCC), can apply to all ARTCCs or a subset, depending on the scale of the emergency. Each ARTCC, in turn, orders all aircraft to land at the nearest available appropriate airport in case of an emergency.
The VOR network around the United States originally numbered almost 1,000 stations. Today, these stations define the 'highways in the air' that criss-cross the country, guiding aircraft safely through the skies.
The SCATANA plan is part of a broader effort to secure radio systems, a focus that began during the atomic age. The Radio Apocalypse series, for instance, explores radio systems developed during this period, with CONELRAD being a notable example. CONELRAD was a system aimed at preventing enemy bombers from using civilian broadcast signals as navigation aids.
While the specific instructions for shutting down navigational aids under SCATANA are not publicly disclosed, it's clear that this plan is an essential part of maintaining the security of our skies in times of crisis.
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