Three companies, including two in the D.C. area, will compete for a contractthat would move aircraft control in the United States from a radar-based system to a satellite-based system.
The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast program will be the first step towards the Federal Aviation Administration’s development of a next-generation air traffic control system, FAA spokesman Paul Takemoto said Monday.
No official was willing to comment on the value of the contract, though it is expected to be substantial.
The three firms selected to compete for the award are Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin, ITT Defense of McLean and Raytheon Co. of Waltham, Mass.
The FAA uses ground-based radar to direct its communications.
It plans to switch communications over to a system that gets its data from the U.S. Global Positioning System satellites, which provide information at a much higher accuracy rate, Takemoto said, leading to fewer accidents.
The system is needed because aircraft traffic is supposed to double or even triple by 2025, Takemoto said.
FAA has conducted four pilot projects trying out ADS-B in different parts of the country. In Alaska, where one of the pilot projects is based, they have seen a 40 percent decrease in the accident rate, Takemoto said.
“It’ll be a big deal,” Takemoto said of the transition. “It’s like the leap from bonfires to flags to radar.”
The system is also supposed to provide better traffic and weather information to pilots in the cockpit.
The contract value for ADS-B has not been established; three companies are eligible to submit bids, with an award likely in July, Takemoto said. All aircraft would need to be equipped with the new system by 2020, he said.
