Northrop Grumman selects Mercury RACE systems for FAA weather radar system

Aug. 1, 2001
Officials at Northrop Grumman's Electronic Sensors and Systems Sector in Baltimore are using RACE computer systems Mercury Computer Systems for the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Weather Systems Processor (WSP) — an enhancement to the Airport Surveillance Radar (ASR-9) from Northrop Grumman.

By John McHale

CHELMSFORD, Mass. — Officials at Northrop Grumman's Electronic Sensors and Systems Sector in Baltimore are using RACE computer systems Mercury Computer Systems for the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Weather Systems Processor (WSP) — an enhancement to the Airport Surveillance Radar (ASR-9) from Northrop Grumman.

"Air traffic controllers and airport officials depend on the information provided by the WSP to ensure the safety of air travelers," says Tom Chrzanowski, manager of domestic ATC radars at Northrop Grumman. "Mercury's high-performance, real-time digital signal processing systems provide our airport surveillance radar with the speed, accuracy and dependability required for such essential technology."

The FAA's WSP systems enhance the ASR-9 airport surveillance radar by enabling it to detect windshear and microburst near major airports, Mercury officials say. At least 38 WSP units are to be installed at windshear-prone ASR-9 sites that do not have other detection systems.

"For the past few years we have coupled our high-performance family of off-the-shelf products with Northrop Grumman's extensive experience in air traffic control radar systems," says Vince Mancuso, vice president and general manager of Mercury's Government Electronics Group. "The use of Mercury's products in the FAA's WSP will enable airports across the country to more quickly identify and react to severe weather conditions."

Information gathered from WSP locations can help organizations such as the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) to model and identify threatening weather conditions, Mercury officials say. The NSSL, located in Norman, Okla., investigates all aspects of severe weather and is one of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's research laboratories.

Additional information about WSP systems can be found at http://wx.tc.faa.gov/wsp.htm and http://www.ll.mit.edu/AviationWeather/index2.html.

For more information on Mercury Computer Systems contact the company by phone at 978-256-1300, by fax at 978-256-3599, by mail at Mercury Computer Systems, Inc., 199 Riverneck Road, Chelmsford, Mass. 01824-2820, by e-mail at [email protected], or on the World Wide Web at http://www.mc.com.

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