FAA taps Raytheon for air traffic control system upgrades

DULLES, Va., Feb. 5 (UPI) -- The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has given Raytheon a $135 million contract modification to upgrade air traffic control systems at 22 U.S. airports.

The airports will receive the Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System, or STARS, completing the final phase of the FAA program to upgrade every major FAA National Air Space facility by December 2019.

"Raytheon and the FAA are together providing a safety-critical platform across the U.S.," said Michael Espinola, managing director, Raytheon Air Traffic Systems. "This platform has the processing capacity to allow greatly improved efficiency for the controllers, airlines and flying public."

STARS provides terminal automation with a single operational baseline, simplifying the implementation of future next-generation enhancements. STARS receives and processes target reports, weather, and other non-target messages from both terminal and en-route digital sensors. It also automatically tracks primary and secondary surveillance targets and provides aircraft position information to the enhanced traffic management system, including unsafe aircraft proximities in the air and on ground runways.

The system is used by both the FAA and the Department of Defense and replaces several generations and versions of existing terminal automation systems.