Definition
A radar display in an air traffic control tower that has been formally approved by the FAA for use in providing radar services to aircraft operating in the airport's surface area. Once certified, controllers using the display may issue radar traffic advisories, sequencing instructions, and certain separation services directly from the tower cab, rather than relying solely on a separate approach control facility.
Plain English
A radar screen in the control tower that the FAA has officially approved, so the tower controllers can use it to track aircraft and give radar-based instructions themselves.
Context Anchor
You may encounter this term in air traffic control descriptions, tower equipment discussions, or procedures explaining what information a tower controller can use.
Derivation
Radar comes from “radio detection and ranging,” meaning finding objects and their distance by using radio waves. “Certified” means the display has been formally approved for its intended control-tower use.
Why Pilots Care
Controllers depend on it for accurate aircraft position data; an uncertified display could provide unreliable information and increase collision risk.
Intuition Check
“Certified” does not mean the controller is certifying the pilot or the flight. Here it means the radar display itself is approved for use in the control tower.
Example Sentence 1
Because the tower has a certified tower radar display, the controller was able to call out traffic by position and altitude rather than just by visual reference.
Example Sentence 2
Maintenance confirmed that the new Certified Tower Radar Display met all FAA requirements before it was placed into service.