Gents, the Secondary Radar comes from a SECONDARY Surveillance radar source - this is the interrogator aerial that communicates directly with that natty little box in the comm stack of a large number of aircraft. The imposition of this restriction will not have been taken lightly and a change in legislation (ANO) was most probably required. The people who gain are the commercial helicopter operators who, otherwise, would not have received any form of effective radar service from Anglia. You must remember that there are a significant number of "players" in this piece of sky (including UK & US Mil). A safety case would have been presented indicating that the provision of an SSR only radar service in this piece of un-regulated Class G airspace would not meet the necessary safety standards. Consequently, a restriction was imposed (mandatory utilisation of SSR) such that the radar controllers could guarantee that they could see all aircraft within the affected piece of airspace. There are no hidden agendas regarding this activity.
If you really want a full explanation, call the sponsor of the AIC (0207453 6540/6544) and, trust me, he will give you a comprehensive response.
Last edited by Whipping Boy's SATCO; 8th May 2004 at 20:28.