A $2.5 billion market for airliner automatic test equipment over the next 20 years has been forecast by RADA, Israeli manufacturer of the Commercial Aviation Test System (CATS).
The prediction is based on Boeing's recent market outlook, which estimates that the world's commercial airlines will add 16,160 new aircraft to their fleets during the next 20 years.
"We think that this forecast is realistic," says Haim Nissenson, president of RADA. The CATS is becoming the most widely used automated diagnostic system, with several more contracts expected to be signed soon, says the company. The CATS is designed to allow fast and reliable testing of electrical and electronic systems.
The system is used by British Airways' maintenance arm, BA Engineering, which has also purchased a dedicated version for the British Aerospace/Aerospatiale Concorde. Other customers include Air Mauritius, China Airlines, Alitalia, Continental Air- lines, Olympic Airways, United Airlines, US Airways, and maintenance centres in China, Israel and the USA.
Source: Flight International
