United Parcel Service (UPS) is to equip its 229 freighters with next-generation satellite navigation systems using the global positioning system (GPS)-based wide-area augmentation system (WAAS).
The equipment will be made by the US express parcels specialist's subsidiary UPS Aviation Technologies (UPSAT).
Development of the GPS/WAAS combination is expected to be complete within a year. Units will power navigation systems for high-end general aviation aircraft and airliners. UPSAT plans to certificate the equipment by next year.
Current GPS receivers are approved for en route navigation and non-precision approaches. WAAS-compatible systems will provide Category I precision landing capability.
UPSAT says that its system will support the future GPS-based local-area augmentation system, which will ultimately replace today's instrument landing systems.
The new GPS/WAAS module will also form the heart of UPSAT's automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) systems.
Source: Flight International
