Raytheon’s AutoTrac III enables Indian airspace harmonisation

Raytheon’s next generation air traffic management system, AutoTrac III (AT3), is now operational at three Indian airports run by Airports Authority of India - Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai - covering three of the four Indian Flight Information Regions (FIRs). These installations are an important milestone in AAI’s plans for the modernisation of India’s airspace in order to accommodate projected levels of growth in the region’s air traffic.

Recently Airports Authority of India won the prestigious Jane’s Award for achieving the best operational efficiency through its upper airspace harmonisation programme for the Chennai FIR. The award was presented to AAI’s V. Somasundaram, Member (ANS), at a ceremony conducted at the ATC Global Conference in Amsterdam on the March 5, 2012, in the presence of chief executive officers and top executives from the world’s leading technology companies and Air Navigation Service Providers.

The challenging goal of providing upper airspace harmonisation in the Chennai FIR was enabled by the installation of Raytheon’s Next Generation ATM Automation system, AutoTrac III. AutoTrac III’s Advanced Signal and Flight Data Processing Systems allowed for the seamless integration of 5 dynamic air space sectors, 10 radars, and the implementation of ATS Inter-facility Data Communication (AIDC). This new highly integrated system approach is providing a dramatic improvement in the operational efficiency of the Indian air space system. The restructuring of air space in Chennai FIR alone would result in fuel savings of 22.3 million litres per annum to the operators, on a conservative estimate, apart from substantial reduction in carbon emission.

“Raytheon is very proud to be part of this important initiative for India and we congratulate Airports Authority of India on this distinguished and most deserved honor,” said Steve duMont, Managing Director of Raytheon’s ATM business, “AAI is truly a world leader in air space modernisation, and Raytheon is committed to our continuing close partnership with them on this transformational endeavor.”

The AutoTrac III system is an advanced, cost-effective solution to the challenges facing the ATM community in the 21st century - traffic growth outpacing revenue growth and the drive to increase capacity and productivity in a cost conscious environment. The AT3 system, with its modern open architecture design and high performance characteristics, is fully adaptable and scalable to any ATM environment, ranging from a simple tower automation application to a fully integrated national multi-centre system.