Harris [HRS] last week signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Air Traffic Control (ATC) business unit of Canada-based SolaCom Technologies in a move designed to expand Harris’ product line and customer base in international markets.
“This acquisition will provide our collective domestic and international customers with highly reliable air traffic control products and services that will lead to a more reliable global network of air traffic control systems,” John O’Sullivan, vice president of Harris Mission Critical Networks, said in a statement.
Harris intends that the SolaCom ATC acquisition will enable the company to address all segments of the air traffic control voice/data systems market and further positions the company to support the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen).
SolaCom’s ATC business has about 50 employees who provide voice and data communication systems and solutions for air traffic facilities and radio communications between airplanes in flight and air traffic controllers.
SolaCom’s next-generation radio control equipment solutions provide extremely reliable voice switching and conferencing capabilities. The business has more than 200 customers on six continents, including NASA, the Air Force, NAV CANADA, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), and the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense.
SolaCom’s ATC products include the Liberty-STAR high-performance ATC switch, which is in useacross the globe in some of the harshest environments on the planet, and the IRENA (Integrated Radio Equipment and Network Adaptor) product line, which provides aviation authorities with the next generation of integrated RCE (Radio Control Equipment), as well as network routing and circuit-adaption solutions, Harris said.
The company expects to complete the acquisition of SolaCom’s ATC business by the end of the month. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.