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ITT salutes South Florida for implementing new air traffic control technology

Dépèche transmise le 7 avril 2009 par Business Wire

ITT salutes South Florida for implementing new air traffic control technology

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aviation industry leaders from throughout Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties met today at Miami International Airport with a delegation of officials from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and host executives from ITT Corporation (NYSE:ITT) to honor South Florida for being the first region to adopt Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) technology under the FAA’s Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) initiative.

ADS-B is the cornerstone of the FAA-mandated NextGen initiative that is intended to increase safety and efficiency to meet the growing needs of air transportation. ADS-B uses GPS satellite signals to provide pilots and air traffic controllers with an unprecedented level of accurate and rapidly updating information about aircraft aloft and on the ground.

“We are particularly pleased to salute aviation industry and community leaders in South Florida for their commitment to the implementation of ADS-B technology,” said Dave Melcher, president of ITT’s Defense Electronics and Services business. “Ultimately, the achievements in South Florida help clear the way for national deployment of ADS-B broadcast services, which will help modernize air transportation and decrease delays.”

Among those who joined ITT and guests from the FAA was the agency’s former administrator Marion Blakey, who is now president and chief executive officer of AIA. Under her leadership at the FAA, she launched NextGen and selected South Florida for the first installation.

“This is a significant milestone and a remarkable accomplishment for NextGen and everyone involved in its evolution,” said Blakey. “And, more importantly, it’s a sign of even greater things to come in the future for our nation’s air transportation system.”

The new technology, developed by ITT at the request of the FAA, is fully operational in South Florida, with the deployment of 11 ground stations in the region, which includes five general aviation airports.

While the adaptation by aircraft will be rolled out over the next several years, some organizations that have their own self-contained fleet of aircraft have already equipped them with ADS-B. Embry Riddle Aeronautical University is relying upon the new technology to aid as a collision avoidance system and to track student pilots.

In August 2007, the FAA, citing ITT’s technical superiority, awarded the company a $207 million initial contract to develop, deploy and maintain the ADS-B ground infrastructure. When fully deployed throughout the United States in 2013, the ADS-B ground infrastructure system will enable very accurate aircraft position data to be presented to air traffic controllers and will provide dramatically enhanced aircraft situational awareness. This program will allow an increasing number of aircraft to maintain safe separation, conduct more precise airport approaches and departures, and execute operations key to accommodating increased levels of air traffic.

ITT is currently working toward deployment of broadcast services for 19 additional FAA-defined airspace areas within the United States and deployment of surveillance services to key sites, including Louisville, Ky.; Philadelphia, Pa.; the Gulf of Mexico; and Juneau, Alaska.

About ITT Corporation

ITT Corporation is a high-technology engineering and manufacturing company operating on all seven continents in three vital markets: water and fluids management, global defense and security, and motion and flow control. With a heritage of innovation, ITT partners with its customers to deliver extraordinary solutions that create more livable environments, provide protection and safety and connect our world. Headquartered in White Plains, N.Y., the company generated 2008 sales of $11.7 billion. www.itt.com