DoD to remove FLIP's from public

Note: You can still download NGA Flight Info Pubs from:
https://164.214.2.62/products/digitalaero/index.cfm

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[Federal Register: November 18, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 222)]
[Notices]
[Page 67546-67547]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18no04-31]

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary


Announcement of Intent To Initiate the Process To Remove
Aeronautical Information From Public Sale and Distribution

AGENCY: National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), Department of
Defense.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) intends to
remove its Flight Information Publications (FLIP), Digital Aeronautical
Flight Information File (DAFIF), and related aeronautical safety of
navigation digital and hardcopy publications from public sale and
distribution.
This action is taken to accomplish the following objectives:
safeguarding the integrity of Department of Defense (DoD) aeronautical
navigation data currently available on the public Internet; preventing
unfettered access to air facility data by those intending harm to the
United States, its interests or allies; upholding terms of bi-lateral
geospatial data-sharing agreements; avoiding competition with
commercial interests; and avoiding intellectual property/copyright
disputes with foreign agencies that provide host-nation aeronautical
data.
The DAFIF and related digital aeronautical information files will
be protected from general public access on the NGA home page
(http://www.nga.mil
). Aeronautical Flight Information Publications (FLIP),

Navigation/Planning Charts (ONC, TPC, etc.), and the DAFIF CD will be
available only through the Department of Defense (DoD) distribution
system. U.S. Federal and State government agencies, authorized
government contractors, and international agencies that currently
receive those products under formal or informal geospatial data
exchange arrangements will not be affected by this action.

DATES: NGA will implement this action on October 1, 2005 (FY06).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about the
substance of this notice, contact Joseph S. Jarvis, Aeronautical
Division, MS L-27, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, 3838 Vogel
Road, Arnold, Missouri, 63010-6238 (e-mail: ).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NGA and its predecessor organizations (DMA
and NIMA) have published DoD's flight information products since the
late 1940s to support the worldwide missions of DoD aircraft. The
publications are sold to the public through the auspices of the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA), and the digital data has been freely
available on the Internet. Notwithstanding a prior practice of making
some of DoD's flight information available to the public in the past,
NGA does not have a statutory requirement to produce aeronautical
products for general civil aviation.
With the proliferation of digital capabilities throughout the
international aviation network, the preferred method of information
exchange is shifting from paper-based to electronic dissemination.
Numerous countries that heretofore relied on host-government agencies
to compile and publish their aeronautical information have recently
transferred that responsibility to commercial or quasi-governmental
agencies. Some of these foreign agencies are beginning to assert
intellectual property rights to the aeronautical data within their
territorial limits and are refusing to provide such aeronautical data
to DoD so long as NGA makes it available to outside interests, whom
these agencies view as possible competitors in the international
marketplace. NGA relies on foreign data obtained through bilateral
geospatial information sharing agreements, and certain nations may
impose restrictions on their data against release to third parties.
Accordingly, there is a rational basis for limiting access to
aeronautical products created for DoD use to DoD and governmental end
users.
By removing national defense aeronautical data from open source
access NGA seeks to accomplish two additional objectives. First, NGA
will reduce the vulnerability of critical navigation data on the
Internet. Second, it will limit/eliminate unfettered access to that
data by organizations and individuals intent on causing harm.
In conclusion, with the accomplishment of this proposed action NGA
aims to protect the sources and integrity of its data, honor its
bilateral agreements restricting non-governmental use, avoid
competition with commercial interests, and allow NGA to focus on its
primary customers and mission, supporting the Department of Defense.


[[Page 67547]]


Dated: November 12, 2004.
Jeannette Owings-Ballard,
OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 04-25631 Filed 11-17-04; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 5001-06-P


--
Shane Partain
http://worldaerodata.com/


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