Definition
A communications connection that transmits radio signals between two fixed points using microwave frequencies, typically employed by the FAA to relay radar, voice, or navigation data between remote sites and air traffic control facilities.
Plain English
A wireless link that carries information through the air on very high-frequency radio waves, used to connect distant FAA equipment back to a control facility without running cables between them.
Context Anchor
Most likely seen in FAA abbreviations, facility status information, or NOTAM-related material describing aviation communication infrastructure.
Derivation
‘Microwave’ refers to radio waves with very short wavelengths (roughly centimeters long), which travel in straight lines between dish antennas. ‘Link’ simply means the connection between two points. Together: a point-to-point radio connection on microwave frequencies.
Why Pilots Care
When an RML fails, the services it carries — such as radar coverage or remote communications — can be lost or degraded in that area. Pilots may see related NOTAMs indicating outages of navaids, radar, or controller communications tied to the affected link.
Intuition Check
Do not read RML as a pilot’s normal voice radio call. It usually refers to a fixed communications path between facilities, not a transmission made from the aircraft.
Example Sentence 1
A NOTAM advised that the remote radar site was out of service due to an RML outage.
Example Sentence 2
Technicians restored the RML after a storm knocked out the signal between the two facilities.