Rockwell Collins is planning updates for its line of automatic dependent
surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) trans-ponders for business aircraft, the company said last month. The TDR-94D-409, offered primarily as a replacement option for older TDR-94/94D transponders that equip more than 15,000 aircraft, is available now, enabling compliance with the new ADS-B mandate in Australia and pending restrictions in Canada’s Hudson Bay region. Collins also announced a planned update to its TSS-4100 traffic surveillance system. The unit, which combines the TCAS and transponder capabilities of the TDR-94D and a TCAS-4000 into a single weight- and space-saving component, will benefit from a software upgrade available in the near future that will add ADS-B-in functionality. Aircraft equipped with ADS-B avionics transmit their ident, position, flight path, altitude and intent (climbing, descending or remaining level) once per second to other aircraft and ATC. They can also receive information about other aircraft in the vicinity.