ITT Snares FAA ADB-S Contract

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has named ITT Corporation as the prime contractor for Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), the keystone technology of the Next Generation Air Transportation System.

An initial three-year contract for White Plains, New York–based ITT is valued at $207 million for overall system integration and engineering. With options to operate and maintain the system after deployment through September 2025, the contract has a potential value of $1.86 billion.

ADS-B is designed to reduce delays and enhance safety by using precise GNSS signals rather than traditional radar to pinpoint aircraft locations. The system allows aircraft to periodically broadcast GPS-derived position, altitude, speed, and identity information using on-board transceivers. The broadcast information may be received and processed by other aircraft or ground stations for use in improved situational awareness, conflict avoidance, and airspace management.

The ITT team will work with the FAA to deploy a nationwide air traffic control surveillance network consisting of field radio sites, data processing centers, network operations centers, and equipment to enable delivery of surveillance data to air traffic control facilities.

In addition to ITT, the team includes AT&T, Thales North America, WSI, SAIC, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Aerospace Engineering, Sunhillo, Comsearch, MCS of Tampa, Pragmatics, Washington Consulting Group, Aviation Communications and Surveillance Systems (ACSS), Sandia Aerospace, and NCR Corporation.