Thales To Unify Air Traffic Management System For Australian Air Force And Airsevices

Thales announced today that it has been chosen to develop a single air traffic management system that will unify the separate systems used by the Royal Australian Air Force and Airservices Australia.

According to the company press release, the system will replace Airservices’ Australian Advanced Air Traffic System (TAAATS) and the Department of Defense’s Australian Defense Air Traffic System (ADATS), which are nearing the end of their service lives.

“Thales has worked closely with Airservices over many years in delivering the current system, but as that reaches the end of its operational lifecycle we will use our experience to implement new technologies that will make life easier for air traffic controllers and airline operators,” said Thales Australia CEO Chris Jenkins.

“To secure this Advanced Work contract we worked very closely with our partners Frequentis and Boeing Defense Australia, whose extensive military aviation expertise enabled a comprehensive offering ideally suited to local conditions. Thales is dedicated to its long-term investment in Australia – building skills and innovating across a wide range of advanced systems for transport, security and defense,” Jenkins said.

Thales manufactures the successful Bushmaster and Hawkei vehicles at its Protected Vehicles site in Bendigo, where it employs 230 people.

The announcement was made at the Avalon air show by infrastructure minister Warren Truss.

OneSky is set to be introduced through a phased transition from 2018 to 2021.