3-1-9

Use of Tower Radar Displays

JO 7110.65BB, Change 3, effective July 9, 2026 · Official text on faa.gov

Uncertified tower display workstations must be used only as an aid to assist controllers in visually locating aircraft or in determining their spatial relationship to known geographical points. Radar services and traffic advisories are not to be provided using uncertified tower display workstations. General information may be given in an easy to understand manner, such as “to your right” or “ahead of you.”
Example

“Follow the aircraft ahead of you passing the river at the stacks.” “King Air passing left to right.”

Reference

FAA Order JO 7210.3, Para 10-5-3, Functional Use of Certified Tower Radar Displays.
Local controllers may use certified tower radar displays for the following purposes:
1. To determine an aircraft's identification, exact location, or spatial relationship to other aircraft.
  Note
  
  This authorization does not alter visual separation procedures. When employing visual separation, the provisions of paragraph 7-2-1, Visual Separation, apply unless otherwise authorized by the Service Area Director of Air Traffic Operations.
  
  Reference
  
  FAA Order JO 7110.65, Para 5-3-2, Primary Radar Identification Methods.
  FAA Order JO 7110.65, Para 5-3-3, Beacon/ADS-B Identification Methods.
  FAA Order JO 7110.65, Para 5-3-4, Terminal Automation Systems Identification Methods.
2. To provide aircraft with radar traffic advisories.
3. To provide a direction or suggested headings to VFR aircraft as a method for radar identification or as an advisory aid to navigation.
  Phraseology
  
  (Identification), PROCEED (direction)-BOUND, (other instructions or information as necessary),
  or
  (identification), SUGGESTED HEADING (degrees), (other instructions as necessary).
  
  Note
  
  It is important that the pilot be aware of the fact that the directions or headings being provided are suggestions or are advisory in nature. This is to keep the pilot from being inadvertently misled into assuming that radar vectors (and other associated radar services) are being provided when, in fact, they are not.
4. To provide information and instructions to aircraft operating within the surface area for which the tower has responsibility.
  Example
  
  “TURN BASE LEG NOW.”
  
  Note
  
  Unless otherwise authorized, tower radar displays are intended to be an aid to local controllers in meeting their responsibilities to the aircraft operating on the runways or within the surface area. They are not intended to provide radar benefits to pilots except for those accrued through a more efficient and effective local control position. In addition, local controllers at nonapproach control towers must devote the majority of their time to visually scanning the runways and local area; an assurance of continued positive radar identification could place distracting and operationally inefficient requirements upon the local controller. Therefore, since the requirements of paragraph 5-3-1, Application, cannot be assured, the radar functions prescribed above are not considered to be radar services and pilots should not be advised of being in “radar contact.”
Additional functions may be performed provided the procedures have been reviewed and authorized by appropriate management levels.
Reference

FAA Order JO 7110.65, Para 5-5-4, Minima.
If there is an outage of the ASR supporting the ASDE system and Multilateration (MLAT) is inoperative or is not present at airports with an ASDE system, the tower position(s) responsible for aircraft on approach to the airport must enable the ADS-B indicator on the tower display workstation(s) (TDW(s)).
Note

The ADS-B indicator will only display if the TDW is operating in Fused Display Mode.

Reference

FAA Order JO 7110.65, Para 3-6-2, Identification.
FAA Order JO 7110.65, Para 5-14-5, Information Displayed.

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