With the advent of the digital age, in which automation and data are transforming business operations, the international air traffic management (ATM) community has developed the concept of a complete flight data object, i.e., a virtual data object containing an accumulation of all acknowledged information about a flight. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Eurocontrol, and industry partners, such as Harris, Mosaic ATM, Volpe, and Lockheed Martin, have participated in efforts to harmonize and standardize the flight information data model known as the Flight Information Exchange Model (FIXM). Particularly, the FAA has supported developments of FIXM-based Flight Object (FO) exchange through investments in research and development in NextGen test beds. The objective behind these research and development (R&D) efforts is to demonstrate an implementation of a shared FIXM FO, which can reduce complexity and improve how flight information is currently shared among Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs). This objective aligns with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)-defined Aviation System Block Upgrade (ASBU), B2-25 Globally Interoperable Systems and Data, which refers to the use of FO and System Wide Information Management (SWIM) for Flight & Flow Information for Collaborative Environment (FF-ICE) initiatives (Module Library of the Aviation System Block Upgrades, 2014).
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