Sextant Avionique is at Farnborough to underscore its arrival on the world scene. A breakthrough in direct sales to the airlines-especially in the U.S.-led to a 6.5% increase in its sales last year to 5.1 billion French francs (US$1 billion) despite sharp cuts in French defense spending.

Now the company is on a roll. The regrouping of the French aerospace industry means Sextant can offer entire commercial avionics packages under its CNS Avionics marketing tie-up with Thomson-CSF and Dassault Electronique; the company has established a reputation as a flight control and navigation systems integrator on programs such as Bombardier's Global Express, and the CRJ-700 and Dash 8-400 regional airliners; and its strategy of developing equipment for dual civil/military use has begun to pay off with increased exports for military applications such as India's Sukhoi Su-30s, Germany's MiG-29 fighters, and Russia's MiG-AT trainer.

"The latest business wins reflect the ability of the company to develop complete avionics systems, drawing on comprehensive expertise from design and development, to certification, production and support," said Jean-Paul Lepeytre, senior vice president in charge of commercial products at Sextant Avionique.

Notable wins included: equipping Northwest Airlines with head up displays; USAirways and Asiana Airlines Airbus aircraft with multimode receivers (MMR) that can work with several different navigation and landing systems; and USAirways and British Airways with its VDR VHF data radio. Sales of the MMR totaled 1,500 units last year, and the VDR 1,200 units.

The results stem from a strategic decision five years ago to concentrate on future CNS (communication, navigation and surveillance) free flight systems, and to integrate the avionics. At that time Sextant Avionique had no communications or surveillance products, and turned to Thomson-CSF and Dassault Electronique to fill out the range based on their military technology.

"This is going to be a major area for us in the next decade," Lepeytre told Show News.
Global wins have spawned extensive worldwide support operations and cooperative programs. Sextant Avionique recently opened an office in Moscow; set up an industrial partnership with Bombardier Aerospace of Montreal on the CRJ-700; established a U.S. subsidiary to handle customer support; and now plans to beef up its Chinese support and manufacturing operations.

The company has invested in 600 staff to support its products worldwide, underlining just how seriously it takes its commitment, Lepeytre pointed out.

Among the main products on show here at Farnborough are Sextant's:

• Topdeck modular avionics suite for military transports such as the C-130 and special mission aircraft, offered in conjunction with Marshall Aerospace of Great Britain;

• Meghas, a new-generation avionics suite for commercial helicopters. The only one of its kind on the market, the system provides a full range of functions including central display and control of airframe and engine parameters, autopilot and GPS navigation. It equips Eurocopter's EC 120, Ecureuil B3, EC 135 and EC 155 helicopters;

• Topsight military aircraft helmet-mounted sight and display, aimed at export markets; and

• Navigation systems using the Pixyz ring laser gyro, and GPS receivers.

By John Morris