Image courtesy of Harris
Harris Corporation has been selected to modernize India’s air traffic management communications infrastructure, supporting an aviation market which is expected to double in size over the next 10 years. The contract was signed at the 6th U.S.-India Aviation Summit, which occurred May 9-11 in Mumbai.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI), which owns and maintains 129 airports, awarded Harris a 15-year, $141 million contract to serve as the prime contractor and systems integrator for AAI’s futuristic telecommunications infrastructure initiative. The initiative will upgrade network operations, enhance security and improve the performance, reliability and quality of India’s ATM network while reducing costs.
India’s domestic civil aviation market has experienced an 18% increase in passenger traffic in the past year, according to the International Air Transport Association. The region handles more than 190 million passengers, which is expected to double to 337 million domestic and 84 million international passengers over the next decade.
Harris will leverage its extensive expertise from creating and managing the highly successful Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) managed services network, which securely connects more than 4,400 national and international FAA and Department of Defense facilities, and enables the FAA to achieve its mission for safe and efficient air travel of more than 87,000 aircraft each day.
“The new secure, purpose-built network will meet the demands of India’s rapid aviation growth and lay the foundation for future ATM opportunities for Harris in other geographies with high air traffic growth,” said Rick Simonian, VP and general manager, Mission Networks for Harris Electronic Systems. “AAI’s selection of our FAA-proven managed network services model allows the agency to benefit from the most current telecommunications technology, enhanced safety and efficiency, and reduced operational costs.”