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    <title>Transport Research International Documentation (TRID)</title>
    <link>https://trid.trb.org/</link>
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    <language>en-us</language>
    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
    <image>
      <title>Transport Research International Documentation (TRID)</title>
      <url>https://trid.trb.org/Images/PageHeader-wTitle.jpg</url>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/</link>
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    <item>
      <title>Multi-Agent Transformer Learning for Moving Target Positioning and Tracking in Complex Environments Using UAV Swarms</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2717738</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This paper presents a novel approach that integrates Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA)-based positioning with Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning (MARL) to enhance the performance of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) swarms in tracking and locating a moving ground target within complex environments. To ensure optimal target assignment, the authors employ the Hungarian algorithm, enabling each UAV to track a designated target and maintain a spatial formation that minimizes the geometric dilution of precision (GDOP). The coordinated behavior of the UAV swarm is then formulated as a partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP), where a Multi-Agent Transformer (MAT) model, built upon the multi-agent advantage decomposition theorem, is employed to map UAV observations to coordinated actions effectively. Finally, the UAVs adjust their trajectories based on the generated actions to improve positioning accuracy, avoid obstacles, and conserve energy. Through extensive simulations, the proposed approach demonstrates its effectiveness in continuously and accurately tracking a moving target, even in dynamic and challenging environments.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 28 Jul 2026 16:10:39 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2717738</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>ADS-B in the Age of Cyber Threats: Preserving Safety without Compromising Accessibility</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2712155</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) has become a cornerstone of modern aviation, revolutionizing Air Traffic Management (ATM) through its ability to continuously transmit real-time flight data—including GPS-derived position, altitude, and velocity. Since its widespread operational deployment over the past decade, ADS-B has significantly enhanced situational awareness, improved safety, extended surveillance coverage into previously unmonitored airspace, and enabled more efficient aircraft routing and separation.However, despite its many advantages, the fundamental design of ADS-B introduces notable security vulnerabilities. Because ADS-B signals are unencrypted and unauthenticated, malicious actors can inject fraudulent broadcasts, creating the illusion of non-existent aircraft. Such spoofing attacks can trigger false cockpit alerts and distract pilots during critical phases of flight. The current ADS-B data format prioritizes simplicity to accommodate a broad range of users, including Air Traffic Control (ATC), ground stations, flight crews, and aviation tracking services. Yet, as ADS-B IN becomes increasingly integral to tactical decision-making, the need for robust security mechanisms grows more urgent to safeguard flight operations.This paper highlights the imperative for a balanced approach to ADS-B security, one that strengthens protection for essential flight functions while preserving open access for non-sensitive applications. It argues that while enhanced security is vital for operational integrity, overly restrictive protocols should not hinder the broader utility of ADS-B data. Ensuring that all stakeholders can continue to benefit from this critical technology without compromising safety is key to its sustained effectiveness.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 23 Jun 2026 13:32:53 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2712155</guid>
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    <item>
      <title>Unified and Certifiable Cybersecurity Management Framework for IVHM</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2712158</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Commercial and military aircraft increasingly rely on Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) as a critical enabler for predictive maintenance, operational efficiency, and mission availability. The evolution of IVHM data communication architecture- from legacy wire-based networks to more wireless based architecture involving onboard wireless sensor networks (WSN) and IP-based air to ground communication networks introduces multidomain cyber-physical attack surfaces that challenge both functional safety and continued airworthiness. DO-326A/ED-202A and DO-356A/ED-203A standards define aviation cybersecurity requirements within a safety-driven assurance context, and IEC 62443 standard offers a defense-in-depth, lifecycle-based control framework for industrial systems. A unified approach by mapping and harmonizing the complimentary aspects of these two standards has the potential to simplify and expedite the security assurance and certification process for the IVHM and other digital avionic systems. The proposed work is a unified, standard-aligned cybersecurity assurance framework for aircraft IVHM systems covering both airborne ground segments as a single integrated entity. The novel methodology evaluates risks by performing Fundamental Requirements (FR) analysis, mapping IEC 62443 to DO-326A/ED-202A requirements through qualitative risk assessment, protocol vulnerability analysis, and attack tree modelling on zone-conduits as per the Security Level (SL) requirements. The resulting risk treatment plan demonstrates a verifiable and auditable method to achieve security assurance and certification of aircraft IVHM system which is extendable to other digital avionic systems.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 23 Jun 2026 10:38:21 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2712158</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Detection of Military Aircraft in an Air Traffic Control Radar Beacon System (ATCRBS) Environment</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2701089</link>
      <description><![CDATA[An initial survey and analysis of military Air Traffic Control Radar Beacon System (ATCRBS) transponder problems was conducted as a result of transponder performance analyzer (TPA) measurement difficulties encountered at Dobbins Air Force Base, Georgia, and from field problem reports from the Atlanta Terminal, New York and Washington Centers, and other areas. The information assembled and presented in this report demonstrates potential ATCRBS problems with high performance military aircraft in fringe areas of coverage and particularly with the Automated Radar Terminal Systems (ARTS's). Aircraft antenna patterns and switching are of primary concern.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Sat, 30 May 2026 18:30:15 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2701089</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Superiority of Secondary Bypass Air in an Integrated Thermal Management System: A Multi-Level Simulation Study</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2697092</link>
      <description><![CDATA[With the advancement of next-generation fighter aircraft, the escalating cooling demands of thermal management in aircraft and their engines are approaching the thresholds of conventional heat sinks, including ram air and fuel. A variable cycle engine (VCE), characterized by its third-stream design, facilitates potential multi-heat sink coordination within the fuel thermal management system (FTMS). Despite the use of decoupled VCE and FTMS modeling in previous research, the heat sink potential of internal secondary bypass air remains largely unexplored and unquantified, with its feedback effects on VCE energy efficiency also lacking rigorous investigation. Driven by the background, this study proposes a novel coupling of VCE and FTMS design. By leveraging multidisciplinary simulations, we provide the first quantitative analysis of the heat sink efficacy of secondary bypass air across representative flight missions and elucidate its synergistic mechanism with fuel. Investigations reveal that compared with ram air, secondary bypass air markedly reduces the thermal accumulation by 36.57%–74.06%. This improved thermal performance is accompanied by a 2.17%–4.10% decrease in the hot-return fuel flow. Intriguingly, the induced specific fuel consumption penalty throughout various typical flight missions consistently remains below 0.8%, thereby demonstrating the economic efficiency and sustainable benefits of employing secondary bypass air for thermal management. Furthermore, this study presents the first optimization strategy for allocating heat transfer areas. Specifically, an area ratio of 0.6 between the ram air and secondary bypass air significantly lowers the system hot-return fuel temperature by 2.68%. This work validates quantitative evidence for secondary bypass air–FTMS coupling and establishes a foundation for system-level thermal management schemes in advanced fighter aircraft and engine designs.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 05 May 2026 09:26:41 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2697092</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Understanding Human Error in Military Aviation Maintenance: The role of Performance Shaping Factors, Cognitive Workload and Error Orientation</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2664371</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Human error remains a major source of reliability and safety risk in aviation maintenance, particularly in military operations where task complexity and operational pressure are unavoidable. Despite continued advancements in technical reliability, the mechanisms through which working conditions and cognitive demands translate into maintenance error, remain insufficiently understood. In particular, the combined influence of systemic factors, cognitive workload, and individual differences has received limited empirical attention. This study examines the effect of Performance Shaping Factors (PSFs) on human error in military aviation maintenance, considering cognitive workload as a mediating mechanism and Error Orientation (EO) as a moderating factor. Survey data from 282 military aviation maintenance personnel were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results show that adverse PSFs significantly increase both cognitive workload and the likelihood of maintenance error. Cognitive workload partially mediates this relationship, indicating that increased mental demand is a key pathway through which unfavorable system conditions degrade maintenance reliability. Error Orientation moderates both direct and indirect effects. Personnel with lower EO are more susceptible to workload-related error. These findings extend human reliability analysis by explaining when and why maintenance errors are most likely to occur. The results support integrated safety management strategies that combine system design improvements, workload control, and targeted personnel development to enhance reliability in high-risk aviation maintenance environments.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 01 May 2026 14:31:49 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2664371</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Aircraft Noise: Military Helicopter Operators Should Improve Outreach to Affected Communities in the D.C. Area</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2683209</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Helicopter noise is an ongoing concern for some  Washington, D.C. area (D.C. area)-residents. The D.C. area is unique among areas with high concentrations of helicopter activity due to its highly restricted and constrained airspace and the presence of many federal agencies and military installations. Studies have suggested that aircraft noise exposure can be annoying, disturb sleep, and increase the risk of more serious medical issues. The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 includes a provision for the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report on reducing rotorcraft noise in the D.C. area. This report examines, in the D.C. area, (1) the extent to which helicopter operations are conducted and for what purposes, (2) the extent to which the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and selected operators have addressed helicopter noise, and (3) the views of selected operators and stakeholders on how the use of drones and electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft may affect helicopter noise. GAO reviewed FAA regulations, relevant laws, Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policies, and relevant literature, and analyzed FAA and military operators’ helicopter flight data for 2020 through 2024. GAO also interviewed FAA officials; 11 helicopter operators, selected based on the number of flights in the D.C. area; and seven stakeholders, selected based on experience with drone and electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft noise.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 30 Mar 2026 08:55:10 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2683209</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>The ongoing evolution of EVTOLs: urban transport potential and the security dimension</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2643197</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This review article explores the evolution, potential applications and security applications of electric vertical take-off and landing (EVTOL) technology, highlighting its commercial, emergency, security and military uses in urban environments. It discusses the technical, infrastructural, policy planning and financial challenges of integrating EVTOLs into urban transportation systems, as well as the potential threats posed by nonstate actors repurposing EVTOLs for offensive operations. The document also examines the use of EVTOLs in emergency response and military operations, emphasizing their rapid start-up times, maneuverability and eco-friendly nature, which is perfect for urban operations.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 25 Mar 2026 15:50:27 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2643197</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Alaska’s Frozen Front Line: Mastering search and rescue in the Last Frontier</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2668463</link>
      <description><![CDATA[In Alaska, even the simplest search and rescue (SAR) missions can become anything but routine. The author describes a nighttime medical evacuation in Cold Bay that should have been straightforward but was complicated by unexpected snow squalls, deteriorating visibility, and risky mountainous terrain. After retrieving the patient, the return trip required every system on the aircraft—radar to identify terrain, forward-looking infrared to detect unseen obstacles, and deicing systems working overtime. Alaskan SAR operations are poised to face increasing challenges as the transformation of the Arctic accelerates. The retreat of sea ice is opening new trade and fishing routes, leading to a surge in vessel traffic through the Bering Sea. This heightened activity will necessitate an expanded Coast Guard presence and enhanced SAR capabilities to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving operational landscape.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 18 Feb 2026 13:22:47 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2668463</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Quintessential Kodiak: A complex, long-distance Arctic rescue</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2663579</link>
      <description><![CDATA[On August 26, 2023, United States Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak completed the medical evacuation of a man from a fishing vessel in the Bering Sea, more than 200 nautical miles northwest of St. Paul Island, Alaska. The rescue required an H-60 helicopter, a C-130 plane, crew and backup crew for each aircraft, plus a self-rescue H-60 crew and helicopter. The harsh Alaska environment brought extra complexities which included planned and unplanned refueling stops; adding a cold-weather kit of fuel additives, plugs and tie-downs; avoiding the cloud of ash from the eruption of Mount Shishaldin, and coping with low visibility from heavy fog. When all assets finally returned home, the air station crews had accumulated 29.4 flight hours, covering more than 1,400 nautical miles across four locations in just three days under the most challenging of conditions.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 03 Feb 2026 10:07:07 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2663579</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Demand Reduction Through Electromagnetically Controlled Pitch (EMCP) of Fans, Propellers, and Turbines</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2604440</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Manufacturers of fans/propellers using hydraulically-actuated pitch control claim energy efficiency gains up to 75% over fixed-pitch solutions. Unfortunately, the added cost, weight, reliability and maintenance considerations of hydraulic solutions has limited the introduction of pitch control for small-to-medium fans and propellers leaving a large market unserved by the efficiency gains associated with changing the pitch of a blade when the blade shaft’s speed changes. Pilot Systems International and Cool Mechatronics are developing an electromagnetically controlled pitch (EMCP) fan/propeller that will produce a new pareto optimal in size, weight, power, cost and cooling (SWaP-C²). The technology will substantially improve the efficiency of military ground vehicle cooling fans which is typically the third greatest power draw (~20kW) in the entire vehicle and provide critical performance improvements during silent watch. It will be a key enabler for the electrification of aircraft.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 24 Nov 2025 10:24:54 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2604440</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>MOSA and Face: Putting Reusable Safe and Secure Software into Practice</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2604427</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Considering the rapid pace of technological innovation, and understanding that most of this innovation is realized through software, it’s imperative that MOSA aligned standards for software development and verification also support compliance with safety and security best practices. The Future Airborne Capability Environment® (FACE) Technical Standard is one of the foremost MOSA aligned standards designed to promote portability and create software product lines across the military aviation domain. This paper will present several ways the FACE Technical Standard and Approach, together with complementary software safety/software security standards and best practices, support the development of reusable safe and secure software.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 24 Nov 2025 10:24:54 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2604427</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Quantifying the Impact of Spatial Disorientation on Pilot Mental Workload and Attentional Focus</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2596592</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Objective: We aimed to find objective measures of the impact of spatially disorienting (SD) stimuli on pilot cognition in an ecologically valid environment. Background: SD frequently occurs in military rotary-wing operations and often contributes to mishaps. Effects of SD stimuli on pilots are usually quantified using control errors, but effects on cognition have not yet been successfully quantified. Method: Military helicopter pilots (n = 14) performed scenarios with six SD stimuli (SD condition) and six corresponding control stimuli (NoSD condition) in a motion-base simulator with integrated virtual reality headset. SD stimuli were: false horizon, featureless terrain, leans, brownout, a somatogyral yaw illusion, and loss of horizon due to night vision goggles (NVGs). Mental workload was measured using auditory arithmetic task performance and attentional focus was measured using eye-tracking. Results: Average arithmetic task performance was significantly impaired, and proportional gaze dwell time on the attitude indicator was significantly increased in the SD compared to the NoSD condition. Of the six SD stimuli, the featureless terrain, the leans, and the brownout induced significant effects on performance, whereas the featureless terrain, brownout, and false horizon significantly affected gaze behavior. The NVGs and somatogyral yaw stimuli did not induce significant effects. Pilots’ self-reports indicated awareness of all SD stimuli, except for the featureless terrain. Conclusion: The results indicate that SD impacts pilot mental workload and attentional focus. Application: Modern military aircraft present a large volume of mission-related information to pilots. This study shows that SD stimuli may negatively impact the processing of such information.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 20 Nov 2025 17:07:19 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2596592</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Cavitation reliability assessment of aviation fuel centrifugal pumps combining Kriging and subset simulation important sampling</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2598994</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Cavitation in aviation fuel centrifugal pumps can lead to impeller erosion and performance degradation, posing significant reliability risks. To efficiently assess low-probability cavitation failures under multidimensional uncertainty, this study proposes a surrogate-based reliability analysis framework named AK-IEI-SSIS, which integrates Kriging modeling, an Improved Expected Improvement (IEI) learning function, and Subset Simulation Importance Sampling (SSIS). The framework adaptively refines sampling near failure boundaries to enhance accuracy and computational efficiency. Its performance is validated through multiple benchmark cases involving nonlinear and high-dimensional systems. A Python-based parametric platform is also developed to orchestrate parametric modeling, meshing, CFD simulation, and reliability analysis. Applied to an aviation fuel centrifugal pump, the framework accurately quantifies cavitation-induced failure probabilities as low as 5.63 × 10⁻⁴ using only 202 CFD evaluations, achieving a 99 % reduction in computational cost compared to Monte Carlo methods. Although demonstrated on a specific pump, the framework is applicable to reliability assessment of rotating fluid machinery under uncertainty, supporting reliability analysis and maintenance planning for next-generation aerospace propulsion systems.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Thu, 20 Nov 2025 17:07:17 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2598994</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>A Context-Aware Feature Fusion Method for Multi-UAV Cooperative Air Combat</title>
      <link>https://trid.trb.org/View/2553490</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Multi-UAV autonomous cooperative air warfare is an important mode of future intelligent air warfare. However, due to the complexity and uncertainty of air combat situation information, how to accurately interpret the enemy’s sustained combat intent remains a major challenge. To address this problem, the authors propose a Context-Aware Adaptive Feature Fusion (CAAFF) method, which can effectively utilize the time-series data of battlefield situation for hierarchical feature fusion. Specifically, the input data is first subjected to dimensionality reduction processing and feature extraction by an encoder-decoder to provide high-quality low-dimensional feature representations for further feature fusion. Next, the middle layer captures attitude changes by aggregating information from neighboring nodes via a graph attention convolutional network (GACN), flexibly fusing the features of each node, and identifying complex relationships between nodes. Finally, the mechanism of stabilizing multi-attention with self-attention is used to integrate global information at the upper layer to construct an overall feature representation of the mission and realize local-to-global posture analysis. In order to enhance the interpretation of persistent operational intent, the authors utilize the context-aware module to construct contextual feature representations by combining current and historical state information, thus improving the depth and interpretability of mission understanding. Finally, the authors combine the CAAFF method with reinforcement learning and verify its performance through multiple experiments, demonstrating the applicability and effectiveness of the method in Multi-UAV cooperative air combat.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Mon, 29 Sep 2025 08:35:42 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://trid.trb.org/View/2553490</guid>
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