Aero-News learned Tuesday that
Rockwell Collins has been awarded a contract from Thai Aviation
Industries, Inc. (TAI) to upgrade the Royal Thai Air Force's (RTAF)
fleet of C-130 aircraft with an integrated Communications,
Navigation, Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM)
solution.
"With this contract award, the Royal Thai Air Force takes an
important step toward gaining unrestricted access to global
airspace,' said Woody Hogle, vice president and general manager of
Integrated Systems for Rockwell Collins. "We are committed to
delivering fully operational, CNS/ATM-capable military aircraft on
time and on budget."
Rockwell Collins will deliver the avionics solution, based on
the company's Flight2(tm) avionics system, on six RTAF C-130
aircraft. The system will include an Ethernet-based integrated
processing center (IPC) with flight management capabilities, large
format multifunction liquid crystal displays, as well as Rockwell
Collins Multi-mode Receiver, TCAS II Traffic Alert and Collision
Avoidance System, weather radar, autopilot, and SATCOM, HF and
V/UHF radios. This upgrade will allow the RTAF C-130 to have
unrestricted access to civil airspace by providing required
navigation performance compliance and automatic dependent
surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) capability. The system supports
growth to controller pilot data link communication (CPDLC).
Rockwell Collins will install the avionics solution with TAI,
providing an installation team for the first two aircraft. TAI will
supply the installation team for the final four aircraft.
Installation will take place at TAI's installation facilities at
Takhli airbase in Thailand.
Rockwell Collins Flight2 system augments and enhances aircraft
operational capabilities by providing an open systems architecture
that integrates flight operations with navigation and guidance
functions while providing growth for future requirements. As the
prime avionics systems integrator for the RTAF C-130 Avionics
Upgrade program, Rockwell Collins provides technology that prepares
their aircraft for changing CNS/ATM requirements as the airspace
transitions to Free Flight operations.
This award represents the latest in a number of successful
CNS/ATM upgrade programs for Rockwell Collins, including the U.S.
Air Force C/KC-135 GATM aircraft fleet upgrade and several
international C-130 programs.
TAI was formed in 2003 when the Thai Government announced the
policy to transform Thailand into an aviation hub in Asia.
Expansion of various aviation-related activities increased the
demand for aircraft maintenance and repair services, leading to the
establishment of TAI as the standard aircraft maintenance and
repair center in Thailand.
With technical and personnel support from overseas companies,
more than 200 TAI engineers and technicians are continuously
developing their knowledge and skills. They are now capable of
providing maintenance and repair services for both small and large
military aircraft such as PC-9, CT-4 series, C-130, G222, AVRO 748,
F-16 and UH-1H.