Raytheon completes critical design review on General Civil Aviation Authority of United Arab Emirates AutoTrac III contract

"This important milestone indicates that the program is running well and on time," said Hassan Karam, director of air navigation services for the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).

Raytheon was awarded a contract in September 2006 to provide the AutoTrac III air traffic management system to the United Arab Emirates. The contract with the GCAA will help ensure safety in the United Arab Emirates airspace by replacing the aging en route system with Raytheon's next-generation air traffic management system.

"The critical design review milestone marks the acceptance of overall system design, including the definition of external interfaces, new software development requirements and final hardware configuration," said Riis Johnasen, director of projects and planning of GCAA. "There is still a lot of work ahead, but we are confident that Raytheon and the GCAA will continue this success story."

Raytheon's AutoTrac III will be installed in the new Sheikh Zayed Air Navigation Centre, Raha Beach, Abu Dhabi. The new centre will be the largest and most advanced air traffic management system in the Middle East.

AutoTrac III provides software and hardware to ensure safety for 16 airspace sectors in the area control centre and 10 in the emergency area control centre. These can easily expand to accommodate anticipated growth in air traffic during the next 20 years.

"The AutoTrac III system adds momentum to the incredible transformation we are undertaking to modernize the U.A.E. airspace," said Mohammed Ghanim Al Ghaith, director general of the GCAA. "Based on the AutoTrac II performance and Raytheon's reputation, it seemed natural to select the AutoTrac III to replace our aging en route system."

AutoTrac III, built solely by Raytheon, capitalizes on the successes of AutoTrac I and II, featuring a new generation of flight and surveillance data processing systems. AutoTrac III also bridges the gap from previous technology by allowing users to integrate the new product system with either their legacy or next-generation products. The system, with its modern, open architecture design and high performance characteristics, is fully adaptable and scaleable to any air traffic management environment, ranging from a simple tower automation application to a fully integrated national, multi-centre system.

"For more than 50 years, Raytheon has been a global leader in the technology and innovation that ensures safety and increases the capacity of airspace around the world," said Andy Zogg, Raytheon's vice president for Airspace Management and Homeland Security. "With Raytheon's AutoTrac III system, GCAA can be confident that it is prepared to handle the incredible air traffic growth expected in this region."

Raytheon Company, with 2006 sales of $20.3 billion, is a technology leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 85 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 73,000 people worldwide.