Airbus will pay an undisclosed sum to acquire Metron Aviation, of Dulles, Va., a provider of air traffic management products and services. The acqusition is expected to be completed later this year.
The airframer said the purchase "strengthens Airbus’ strategy to accelerate and support ATM programs that will dramatically improve global air transportation capacity, efficiency and environmental sustainability."
Earlier this year, Airbus launched subsidiary Airbus ProSky, dedicated to supporting the FAA’s Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), Europe’s Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) and other global ATM modernization programs.
“The acquisition of Metron Aviation supports the Airbus strategy to help countries improve their ATM,” said Eric Stefanello, Chief Executive Officer of Airbus ProSky. “Together, we can provide a new level of capabilities to support NextGen and SESAR even better. Like Airbus ProSky, Metron Aviation is not an ATM equipment manufacturer, so the acquisition is a perfect fit for our approach of seeking to partner with the FAA and the world’s ANSPs.”
Metron Aviation will operate as a U.S. subsidiary of Airbus Americas.