What is Performance Based Navigation (PBN) in aviation?

Performance Based Navigation (PBN) concept implies to aircraft that follows defined path (track) with a requested navigation performance. PBN operations covers Area Navigation (RNAV) and (RNP) operations.

The RNAV specification is based on area navigation that does not include the requirement for onboard performance monitoring and alerting, while RNP operations require that the aircraft system monitors the navigation performance, and alerts the flight crew if the requested navigation performance is no longer achieved.

The navigation routes are defined by significant points called “Waypoints”, which are in turn defined by coordinates. These routes can follow any desired path and are not constrained by the position of ground based Nav Aids.

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