BAE SYSTEMS developed ClearFlite in response to NGA’s Ron Brown Airfield Initiative (RBAI).

The goal of the RBAI is to produce the safest possible Terminal Procedures or “TERPS” for some of the world’s busiest airports.

TERPS consist of detailed information about airfields, runways, and vertical obstructions. The RBAI consists of all military and civilian airports at which U.S. Department of Defense passenger aircraft are anticipated to land on 3 or more times per year. This consists of over 2,000 airfields worldwide. NGA was tasked to develop a database of these airfields containing the Airfield Survey Data, Airfield Features, Vertical Obstructions, and Airfield Elevation Models.

The problem is the existing data collection process…

Historically, airfield vertical obstruction identification was done with conventional land surveying methods. Although these methods are the most accurate, they are also the most costly and time consuming.

Additionally, conventional methods do not have the ability to determine a vertical object vs. a vertical obstruction. ClearFlite does have the ability to determine a vertical obstruction by automatically generating an Obstruction Identification Surface.