Upgrades Laying The Ground Work For NextGen Air Traffic Control

CSC, Computer Sciences Corporation, announced this week it has successfully implemented a series of upgrades to the FAA's Traffic Flow Management System (TFMS) in the first half of 2011. The upgrades include two separate software releases improving the performance and functionality of TFMS, and a successful transition of the TFMS equipment to a new command center. Both upgrades are part of a larger FAA effort to modernize traffic flow management in preparation for deployment of the FAA’s NextGen ATC initiatives. TFMS tracks, anticipates and manages the flow of air traffic throughout US airspace.

"With these upgrades, the FAA can better predict traffic flow demand, identify constraints, mitigate delays and maintain common situational awareness," said Mike Gaffney, president of CSC’s North American Public Sector Civil Group. "CSC is proud to support FAA efforts to streamline aircraft flow management while reducing flight delays and decreasing costs for the flying public and the airlines."

The two software releases were completed in January and June of this year and provide new functional enhancements for traffic management coordinators to model the impacts of traffic on the national airspace system, as well as new interfaces for eventual NextGen applications. The latest release provides a significant boost to computing performance, reducing average server loads during peak traffic times.

In April, CSC successfully transitioned the TFMS remote site from the Air Traffic Control System Command Center in Herndon, VA, to the new command center in Vint Hill, VA. This relocation is also part of a larger effort to modernize traffic flow. CSC says it was completed on time, on budget and without any disruption in day-to-day TFMS operations.

FMI: www.csc.com