12.2  MILITARY USE OF NATIONAL AIRSPACE

Many NATO nations require military aircraft to meet civilian flight certification

requirements and carry the necessary navigation equipments if they operate in

controlled airspace without specific approval from the appropriate authorities. 

Military use of national airspace is usually a cooperative effort between the military

services and the CAA of the particular nation.  For example in the U.S., equipment,

operational requirements, and flight certification are performed by the individual

services, although some military aircraft maintain civilian flight certification and

meet all civilian requirements.  Military aircraft do not necessarily have the same

integrity requirements as civilian aircraft, especially tactical aircraft that do not

normally fly the civilian route structures intermingled with commercial and general

aviation aircraft. 

12.3  CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITIES, AGENCIES, AND ORGANIZATIONS

12.3.1  Regulatory Authorities

The responsibility for establishing regulations and certifying the use of GPS in civil

airspace is shared by the regulatory agencies of individual nations as well as

cooperative efforts promoted by several multinational organizations.  The primary

regulatory agencies are the CAAs established by individual nations to regulate

aviation within their own sovereign airspace.  They have the ultimate authority and

responsibility to manage air traffic and regulate aviation equipment, operations, and

aircrews.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is a cooperative multinational

organization that is the primary forum for establishment of Standards and

Recommended Practices (SARPS) regarding international flights.  ICAO is also the

primary forum for international agreements to provide common standardized

navigation and communication systems or address similar issues which ensure

interoperability of systems, cooperation between nations, and generally promote

flight safety and efficiency.  The multinational agreements are supplemented by

individual agreements between nations which can address such issues as joint use

of both nations  airspace and mutual recognition of aircraft and aircrew

certifications.

The European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL) is a

multinational organization founded to promote flight safety in Europe.  This region 

of the world has a particularly high density of international air traffic and close

proximity of international borders, requiring a high level of cooperation between

nations.  Beyond air traffic management issues, EUROCONTROL has also become

a focus for technical advancement of aviation systems in general.

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