Neelam Mathews

Raytheon says tapping into Asia’s urgent need <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/ain-air-transport-perspective/2012-05-21/emirates-plans-time-based-operations-dubai-international">to update its air traffic management (ATM) infrastructure</a> to handle rapid growth in air traffic is one of its key priorities. The company recently responded to a request for proposals from Vietnam and Thailand, and opportunities are surfacing in Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, said the U.S. company. In the Middle East, it has set up its AutoTrac III (AT3) system at Dubai World Central’s Al Maktoum International Airport, and this is due to be operational by the end of 2012.
“We are going to franchise AutoTrac,” Andrew Zogg, vice president, business development, told AIN. “We will look at broader partnerships, more licensing, more industrial relations.”
Clear exceptions are India and Hong Kong. Raytheon has been working closely with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to providing an advanced ATM system that covers three of the four Indian Flight Information Regions–Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai, which are all now equipped with Raytheon’s AT3 system. “We took the concepts implemented on AT3 in India to the U.S,” said Zogg. The AT3 incorporates advanced surveillance and flight data processing and India can claim to have the most modern ATM system operational. Raytheon is presently, in collaboration with its partner, Tata Power Strategic Electronic Systems, planning to install AT3 for 30 military airfields in India. 
In Hong Kong, the company is supplying the AT3 system for the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department’s new area control center at Hong Kong International Airport.
Raytheon has also built 16 ground reference stations for the GPS-aided geosynchronous augmented navigation (GAGAN) system, a satellite-based navigation system for civil aircraft flying over Indian airspace.