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AIRPORT SURFACE DETECTION EQUIPMENT (ASDE)

Pilot/Controller Glossary with JO 7110.65BB, Change 3, effective July 9, 2026 · Official text on faa.gov

Surveillance equipment specifically designed to detect aircraft, vehicular traffic, and other objects, on the surface of an airport, and to present the image on a tower display. Used to augment visual observation by tower personnel of aircraft and/or vehicular movements on runways and taxiways. There are three ASDE systems deployed in the NAS:

  1. ASDE-3- a Surface Movement Radar.
  2. ASDE-X- a system that uses an X-band Surface Movement Radar, multilateration, and ADS-B.
  3. Airport Surface Surveillance Capability (ASSC)- A system that uses Surface Movement Radar, multilateration, and ADS-B.

Also called ASDE.

In the 7110.65

Used in 11 paragraphs of JO 7110.65BB.

  1. 1-2-6Abbreviations
  2. 3-1-4Coordination Between Local and Ground Controllers
  3. 3-1-7Position Determination
  4. 3-1-9Use of Tower Radar Displays
  5. 3-4-19Runway Status Lights (RWSL)
  6. 3-6-1Equipment Usage
  7. 3-6-2Identification
  8. 3-6-3Information Usage
  9. 3-6-4Safety Logic Alert Responses
  10. 3-9-4Line Up and Wait (LUAW)
  11. 5-14-5Information Displayed