L-3 Aviation Products is eyeing the opportunity presented by an increasingly demanding timetable to install next-generation navigation systems on the world’s airliner fleet.
A number of the world’s regulators are mandating the installation of ADS-B Out on commercial aircraft, with deadlines beginning next year.
ACSS, a joint venture between the company and Thales, achieved certification for its ADS-B Out transponder in 2012 – “the first to market” says L-3 Aviation vice-president for marketing and sales Ralph DeMarco.
It estimates that around 14,000 aircraft fitted with its legacy transponders will require upgrading in the coming years “and those are just ours” adds DeMarco.
Presently three US carriers – JetBlue, UPS and US Airways – are retrofitting their fleets with L-3 transponders, says DeMarco. “Those guys are the first to the party,” he says. “It is progressing very well – with JetBlue we are installed on 35 of its [Airbus] A320s and we are working to convert the rest of the fleet.”
L-3 has the benefit of its transponders being a line-fit item on a number of aircraft, including the Bombardier Q400 and ATR 42 and 72, says DeMarco. ADS-B Out enables an aircraft to broadcast an accurate fix of its position during flight. A related system – ADS-B In - allows that data to be received and displayed in the cockpit.
“It aids situational awareness, reduced pilot workload and enables operational efficiencies in all areas of the flight,” says DeMarco.
Source: Flight Daily News
