By David Jensen
FAIRFAX, Va., 1 Feb. 2010. Recently completed factory testing demonstrated the readiness of a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) ground surveillance system developed to fill the needs of Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) low-cost ground surveillance (LCGS) program. SRA International Inc. evaluated a hybrid system it conceived by combining Terma A/S' Scanter 2001 surface movement radar with HITT's A-3000 display and surveillance data fusion system, both deployed worldwide.
SRA International tested the ground surveillance solution at Terma's manufacturing facility in Denmark. HITT (Holland Institute of Traffic Technology BV) is based in the Netherlands.
In April 2009, FAA awarded SRA International a five-year indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract with a maximum value of $20 million for low-cost surface surveillance technology. That technology is now ready for initial deployment at the Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport in California.
Fairfax, Va. –based SRA International's aim in developing the system is to satisfy the LCGS program's goal of reducing the number and severity of runway incursions at small- and medium-size airports in the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS). Surveillance systems such as SRA International's are designed to be less expensive than the airport surface detection equipment (ASDE-X) deployed at major airports in the NAS. An SRA International spokesman says the tested system costs "in the range of $1.5 million and $2 million," a fraction of ADSE-X's installed price.
The COTS system has standard industry interfaces, allowing for expansion to incorporate NextGen surveillance and traffic management technologies such as automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B), traffic information system-broadcast (TIS-B) and airfield lighting control systems, according to an SRA International spokesperson. "For little added expense, an airport could also acquire a multilateration system, enhancing surface movement monitoring," he adds.
