ACSS, an L-3 Communications and Thales joint venture, has received European Technical Standard Order (ETSO) Authorization from EASA for Change 7.1 software for its TCAS 2000 and TCAS II traffic alert and collision avoidance systems. The Change 7.1 enhancement meets EASA’s Notice of Proposed Amendment (NPA) for TCAS and makes the ACSS equipment compliant with the new C119c standard, ACSS said.
EASA’s expected mandate calls for Change 7.1 software to be installed on all newly built aircraft operating in European airspace by no later than March 2012 and by December 2015 to retrofit
existing aircraft. The Change 7.1 upgrade applies to all manufacturers of TCAS II products and delivers two important enhancements: reversal logic and new aural alerting for Adjust Vertical
Speed. Several business jet manufacturers that offer TCAS 2000 as a standard product are in the process of developing Service Bulletins to make the new Change 7.1 software available to
their customers.
“Change 7.1 is an important aviation safety enhancement, and we’re making it available to our TCAS 2000 customers as an easy-to-install software upgrade,” said Jean-Michel Clairis-Gauthier, vice president of sales, marketing and customer service for ACSS. “We are also offering special incentives for customers to bring their TCAS units up to this new standard.”More than 10,000 ACSS TCAS 2000s are installed and operating in air transport, regional, corporate and military aircraft around the world."