MCLEAN, Va., Sept. 4 (UPI) -- The Federal Aviation Administration announced it has contracted New York-based ITT Corp. to develop the Automatic Dependent Surveillance broadcast system.
FAA's NextGen program is an effort to increase the safety and efficiency of air transportation. Officials say the ADS-B system is a key component.
ITT will be responsible for overall system integration and engineering of the ADS-B system under the three-year, $207 million contract, which also includes options to operate and maintain the system after deployment through September 2025. If all options are exercised the contract has a potential value of $1.86 billion.
"The ITT Team is proud to have been selected by the FAA as its partner in the establishment of this technology that will form the basis for the transformation of the air transportation system under the FAA's NextGen vision," said Steve Gaffney, president of ITT Defense, in a statement. "ITT and its premier team of industry partners are committed to working with the FAA to ensure this NextGen cornerstone program delivers its full potential for enhanced National Airspace System safety, efficiency and capacity."
To enable the delivery of surveillance data to air traffic control facilities and provide more accurate and rapidly updating position data, the ITT team will work with the FAA to deploy a nationwide air traffic control surveillance network.
