The world's first third-generation traffic alert and
collision avoidance system, TCAS 3000, will be certificated by the end of the
year and appear on the Dassault Falcon 7X in first quarter 2006, according to
ACSS, the Phoenix-based avionics company owned by L-3 Communications and
Thales.
"This is not just another TCAS," says ACSS president Kris Ganase.
"It is the first application of our common computing platform, which we call
our Surveillance Processor." This black box is available in either a four- or
six-MCU form factor, and enables aircraft owners to upgrade their entire suite
of safety avionics systems by adding software. The many functions that can be
added to the new hardware platform include modules for terrain
awareness (TAWS), Mode S transponder and automatic dependent
surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) capability.
Among the launch customers for TCAS 3000 is UPS. The airline,
according to Ganase, was initially drawn to the SafeRoute sequencing and runway
incursion product and decided to install TCAS 3000 instead of upgrading the
current ACSS TCAS systems across its entire fleet. UPS will also integrate TCAS
3000 into the flight deck of its Airbus A380s, he notes.
