S. 1706 — A bill to require aircraft operating in Class B airspace in the national airspace system to install and operate ADS-B In and ADS-B Out equipment, and for other purposes.

This section requires all aircraft, including military aircraft, operating in Class B airspace in the national airspace system to have ADS-B In and ADS-B Out equipment that meets FAA performance requirements, installed, activated, and operational whenever taxiing or in flight, effective on the date of enactment. The section (1) prohibits the Secretary of Transportation or FAA Administrator from issuing or enforcing any regulation exempting aircraft from this requirement; (2) repeals a prior exemption for certain Department of Defense aircraft enacted in the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019; and (3) defines ADS-B In (i.e., avionics receiving other aircraft's position and velocity data), ADS-B Out (as defined in FAA regulations), Administrator (i.e., FAA Administrator), and aircraft (i.e., manned fixed-wing, rotorcraft, powered-lift, or other). (As background, ADS-B is a GPS-based surveillance system that has largely replaced radar for air traffic control in equipped airspace; Class B airspace surrounds the busiest U.S. airports.)