THE FOCUS OF THE RESEARCH EFFORT UNDER THIS SOW IS TO CONDUCT A SYSTEMS STUDY THAT ADDRESSES THE ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH DEPLOYING NEW/ADVANCED VEHICLES BY EXPLORING THE TRADES AMONG PROCEDURES, VEHICLE CHARACTERISTIC, AND OVERALL NEXTGEN PERFORMANCE. THE STUDY SHOULD DEVELOP PROCEDURES FOR OPERATING NEW AND ADVANCED VEHICLES WITHIN THE AIR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM DESCRIBED BY THE NEXTGEN CONOPS; ADAPT OR DEVELOP MODELS AS REQUIRED TO PERFORM THE NECESSARY ANALYSES; CONSIDER CHARACTERISTICS OF BOTH NEXTGEN ATM SYSTEM AND THE VEHICLES AND PROVIDE INSIGHT TO ADVANCING BOTH VEHICLES AND ATM CONCEPTS TO ENHANCE PERFORMANCE AND COMPATIBILITY WITH THE CONOPS; AND ANALYZE THE INTERACTIONS AMONG VEHICLES, PROCEDURES, AND THE NEXTGEN CONOPS TO DETERMINE (1) HOW THE PROCEDURES AND CONCEPTS OF OPERATIONS FOR THESE VEHICLES IMPACT THE PERFORMANCE OF THE OVERALL SYSTEM, (2) APPROACHES TO ENSURING THE SAFETY OF THE VEHICLES AND THE SYSTEM, (3) THE EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND OTHER CONSTRAINTS, AND (4) IMPLICATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF FUTURE VEHICLES, PROCEDURES, AND NEXTGEN. IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT WHILE THE CURRENT NEXTGEN PLANS ENVISION THE FULLY OPERATION IMPLEMENTATION OF NEXTGEN BY 2025, NEXTGEN MUST BE DESIGNED TO ACCOMMODATE USER NEEDS WELL BEYOND 2025. HENCE, THE ADVANCED AIRCRAFT TO BE CONSIDERED IN THIS STUDY SHOULD NOT BE LIMITED TO THOSE WHO ENTRY INTO SERVICE IS EXPECTED TO OCCUR BEFORE 2025. THE STUDY SHOULD PROVIDE INSIGHTS INTO KEY QUESTIONS REGARDING NEXTGEN OPERATIONS UNDER A NUMBER OF SCENARIOS THAT MAY INCLUDE THE INTRODUCTION OF NEW CLASSES OF VEHICLES, DIFFERENT CONCEPTS OF OPERATION OF THESE VEHICLES, UPSET CONDITIONS SUCH AS THE OCCURRENCE OF SEVERE WEATHER CONDITIONS AND UNEXPECTED DISTURBANCES, VARIOUS APPROACHES TO ENSURING THE SAFETY OF THE VEHICLES AND THE SYSTEM, AND A RANGE OF INCREASINGLY STRICT ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS. SENSITIVITY ANALYSES SHOULD ENABLE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE EFFECTS OF COMPONENT, VEHICLE, OPERATIONAL, AND SYSTEM-LEVEL CHARACTERISTICS ON THE PERFORMANCE THE AIR TRANSPORTATION, SYSTEM NAMELY CAPACITY, EFFICIENCY, ROBUSTNESS, SAFETY, AND LOCAL AND GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS. THE RESULTS OF THESE ANALYSES WILL BE USED TO UNDERSTAND THE KEY ISSUES THAT MUST BE ADDRESSED IN RESEARCH PROGRAMS AND IN MANAGING THE PORTFOLIO OF TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS TO SUPPORT THE REALIZATION OF NEXTGEN. THE RESULTS OF THIS CROSSCUTTING TECHNICAL EFFORT ARE ALSO INTENDED TO ESTABLISH THE INITIAL ELEMENTS OF A FRAMEWORK FOR A SYSTEM-LEVEL ANALYSIS CAPABILITY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS THAT INVOLVE THE INTERACTION OF AIR TRAFFIC, VEHICLE, SAFETY, AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES. RECOMMENDATIONS ARISING FROM THIS STUDY SHOULD RECOGNIZE THAT AN ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO ESTABLISH IN THE FUTURE A SET OF NEXTGEN SYSTEM ANALYSIS TOOLS THAT WILL MODEL THE RELEVANT TECHNOLOGIES AND CONCEPTS BEING DEVELOPED IN ARMD TECHNICAL PROGRAM AREAS, WITH AN OVERARCHING VIEW OF THE DESIGN, APPLICATION, AND INTEGRATION OF NEXTGEN TECHNOLOGY CONCEPTS.