International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs)

Aeronautical Radio Stations and Offshore Non-Directional Radio Beacons (NDBs) are required to comply with the relevant parts of the following ICAO SARPs.

• ICAO Annex 10 Aeronautical Telecommunications Volume I (Radio Navigation Aids)
• ICAO Annex 10 Aeronautical Telecommunications Volume II Communication Procedures including those with PANS status
• ICAO Annex 10 Aeronautical Telecommunications Volume III – Communication Systems Part I - Digital Data Communication Systems; Part II – Voice Communication Systems.
• ICAO Annex 10 Aeronautical Telecommunications Volume V (Aeronautical Radio Frequency Spectrum Utilization).

Where the UK has filed differences to SARPs, these will be published in Supplements to the Annexes and in the UK Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP).

International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Radio Regulations (RR)

Aeronautical Radio Stations and Offshore Non-Directional Radio Beacons (NDBs) are required to comply with the relevant articles of the ITU Radio Regulations.

European Radio Equipment & Telecommunication Terminal Equipment (R&TTE) Directive 1999/5/EC

Aeronautical Radio Stations and Offshore Non-Directional Radio Beacons (NDBs) are required to comply with the UK Statutory Instrument 2000 No. 730 ‘The Radio Equipment and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment Regulations 2000’ as amended, which came into force on the 8th April 2000 and is the UK implementation of the R&TTE Directive 1999/5/EC.

Note:  The R&TTE Directive 1999/5/EC as published excludes ‘air-traffic-management equipment and systems within the meaning of Article 1 of Council Directive 93/65/EEC of 19 July 1993 on the definition and use of compatible technical specifications for the procurement of air traffic-management equipment and systems’.  However, the Council Directive 93/65/EEC has been repealed since 20 October 2005 and as a consequence, ground aeronautical radio equipment now falls within the scope of the R&TTE Directive 1999/5/EC.

Note:  Manufacturers have the responsibility of making an EC Declaration of Conformity (DoC), which has to be provided for the user, and supplied with the equipment. For self declaration the EC Declaration of Conformity has to indicate the ETSI Harmonised standards that have been applied to establish conformity. Where specific ETSI harmonised standards have not been produced or applied, the manufacturer will require a letter of Opinion from a Notified Body. The Letter of Opinion is to be referenced on the DoC. The manufacturer is also required to label the equipment with the 'CE' mark to indicate compliance, plus certain other marks in specific cases as indicated by the R&TTE Directive.

Second Hand Radio Equipment

The R&TTE Directive 1999/5/EC applies to products which are intended to be placed or put into service on the European Union (EU) market for the first time and includes new as well as used or second-hand products imported from countries outside the EU and placed on the market for the first time.

However, it is recognised that some second-hand radio equipment will previously have been placed into service in the EU at some point in time.  In particular this includes radio equipment that is no longer manufactured or ceased manufacture at the time when the R&TTE Directive 1999/5/EC came into force.

European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)

The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) has published standards to enable manufacturers of aeronautical radio equipment to self declare compliance with the R&TTE Directive.

• EN 300 676-1 Ver. 1.4.1 Ground-based VHF hand-held, mobile & fixed radio transmitters, receivers & transceivers for the VHF aeronautical mobile service using amplitude modulation; Part 1: Technical characteristics and methods of measurement
• EN 300 676-2 V1.4.1 Ground-based VHF hand-held, mobile and fixed radio transmitters, receivers and transceivers for the VHF aeronautical mobile service using amplitude modulation; Part 2: Harmonised EN covering essential requirements of Article 3.2 of the R&TTE Directive
• EN 301 489-01 V1.4.1 Electromagnetic compatibility and Radio spectrum Matters (ERM); ElectroMagnetic Compatibility (EMC) standard for radio equipment and services; Part 1: Common technical requirements
• EN 301 489-22 V1.3.1 Electromagnetic compatibility and Radio spectrum Matters (ERM); ElectroMagnetic Compatibility (EMC) standard for radio equipment and services; Part 22: Specific requirements for ground-based VHF aeronautical mobile and fixed radio equipment

ETSI Documents can be downloaded from the ETSI Website.