Resulting from a competitive solicitation issued, under which three (3) companies competed, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded Indra a contract with a total contract value of $244.3M, if all options are exercised, to renew its ground-air communications system, key to air traffic management (ATM) in the country, by replacing its analog radio systems (UHF and VHF) with digital radio equipment capable of analog and VoIP operation.
This contract positions Indra as the global leader in radio communications for ATM with roughly 50% market share.
The company envisions the manufacture of up to 46,000 new radio devices at its facility in Overland Park, Kansas, where it will transfer the production of its Park Air radio technology for the United States market.
In addition to developing the equipment, the contract includes producing, testing, and qualifying the radios as well as a 10-year warranty on radios.
Indra’s digital radio systems are equipped with IP technology to enable voice and data communication over a secure network (VoIP), which will enable air-ground communications between pilots and air traffic controllers in facilities across the U.S. Furthermore, Indra’s technology will help reinforce safety, efficiency, and the resiliency of the nation’s air traffic control system.
A sum of capabilities to lead the sky
“This contract constitutes another step in our growth strategy in the United States, which forms part of our Leading the Future plan to expand our global ATM leadership. Key to achieving the above has been the cooperation of our subsidiary in the United States with Indra’s Center of Excellence for radios in the United Kingdom ‘Park Air’, renowned for its leadership and extensive experience in the development of advanced communications systems, which will now have a new production center in Kansas”, declared Javier Ruano, director of ATM at Indra.
With this project, Indra will also reinforce its relationship with the FAA, which has recently included Indra’s Surface Awareness Initiative (SAI) technology on its list of qualified products for the surveillance and monitoring of surface aircraft. The FAA will be able to acquire this technology for any of the nation’s 450 towered airports.
In addition to the FAA, Indra has customers in the US market such as the US Air Force and the US Navy.
Indra has equipped more than 11,000 air traffic facilities around the world and it is one of the few companies in the world with a portfolio of next-generation solutions that are capable of managing a flight from gate to gate, from take-off to destination, while its technology guarantees the safety of 85% of the passengers who take a flight every day in the world, making it one of the global leaders within the sector. It has supplied Park Air civilian and military communications systems to customers in over 100 countries.
