ACSS is gearing up to deliver the first hardware on its new T3CAS integrated TCAS, TAWS and Mode S transponder product later this summer, with certification due in the third quarter of 2009. The company, which is jointly owned by L-3 Communications and Thales, is exhibiting on the L-3 stand.
T3CAS is set to be certified on the Airbus single-aisle A320 family and long-range A330/A340 aircraft, including the A340-500/600, and hosts a range of capabilities mandated by Eurocontrol’s programme for Air Traffic Situational Awareness (ATSA).
ACSS says that T3CAS delivers lower acquisition and ownership costs, less weight and volume and reduced wiring with improved power efficiency. And ACSS chief operating officer Cole Hedden says the company is also in talks with other OEMs on the back of the Airbus deal.
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“ITP is going to be important in that it enables aircraft to change altitudes and overtake other aircraft more easily in remote (non-radar) regions, such as the North Atlantic.”
The T3CAS integrated platform for Airbus will include the ACSS SafeRoute ADS-B (automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast) capabilities, including Air Traffic Situational Awareness (ATSAW), and ITP. The new transponder will also be available as a software update to existing ACSS equipment.
SafeRoute, which received operational approval from UPS earlier this year, works by tracking every aircraft in its vicinity equipped with a standard-fit Mode S transponder. Its Surface Area Movement Management (SAMM) option has cost-saving implications as its gives the pilot a better picture of how many aircraft are taxiing and queuing to take off.
Source: Flight International
