Raytheon's STARS Outperforms Current Air Traffic Control Systems

Business Wire, April 7, 1999

LEXINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 7, 1999--Contrary to news reports published earlier today, STARS, the air traffic control system developed by Raytheon Company (NYSE:RTNA)(NYSE:RTNB) is faster than systems currently in use, is performing up to FAA specifications, and has been successfully tested and used in airports around the world. Much of the news coverage has been generated by a weeks-old report that was authored by Raytheon's competitor.

"The STARS system is the state-of-the-art air traffic control system for the next century. Its features and technology are unmatched. We are dismayed that there has been so much inaccurate coverage about STARS, especially when you consider that the report that started it all was written by one of Raytheon's chief rivals," said Frank Marchilena, senior vice president, general manager of Command, Control, Communication and Information Systems, for Raytheon Company.

The report presented a picture to the public that was inaccurate and misleading with regard to the system's speed or response times. STARS (Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System) has better overall performance than the current system, which relies on technology that is more than 20 years old. "When evaluating the merits of STARS, it's important to view its performance on the whole and consider its many outstanding features. In short, STARS does far more than the current technology, which we believe makes it a more effective and ultimately safer system," said Marchilena. Following are a few facts about STARS that have not made it into the recent news stories:

--STARS HAS BETTER OVERALL PERFORMANCE. STARS displays will replace 20-year-old technology that uses analog displays. These analog displays cannot be maintained over time. In addition, the old technology presents data to the controller in an entirely different form than the STARS high-resolution color TV technology. The STARS technology updates the controller information in its entirety (the entire picture including all the radar targets, histories, weather, maps, etc.). The existing system updates the controller information in a piecemeal fashion.

--STARS HAS FASTER RESPONSE TIMES FOR UPDATES. STARS takes 1.2 seconds to update all the information mentioned above. The current system, Automated Radar Terminal Systems (ARTS), actually takes 20 seconds to update all the data. The architectural differences between ARTS and STARS do not allow an "apples to apples" comparison. It is true that some of the STARS individual controller commands take longer than ARTS, but some STARS commands are faster than ARTS. For example, the critical time for the radar target to get to the controller's view is actually less on STARS than ARTS. A test report authored by the maker of ARTS omitted a number of areas where STARS response times are better than ARTS.

--STARS IS THE BEST ALTERNATIVE FOR BUSY AIRPORTS. In an FAA conducted test in February 1999 by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, controllers using system workloads that far exceeded those ever expected at Washington's Reagan National Airport, said that the systems' performance was acceptable. The issues raised were minor and will be resolved in the next version of STARS in June. The controllers participating in the performance test represented several of the largest airports in the country including Atlanta, Boston, Southern California, Dallas-Fort Worth and Seattle. Raytheon has suggested further performance enhancements. These suggestions are awaiting FAA action.

"The FAA has said repeatedly - including in today's news reports -- that delays in implementing STARS have not undermined the agency's confidence in the system. Issuance of a report that has not been authored by the FAA should not be the impetus for undermining the public's confidence in a system that, when fully implemented, will tremendously improve safety in the skies above our busiest airports," said Marchilena.

Raytheon Company, based in Lexington, Massachusetts, is a global technology leader that provides products and services in the areas of commercial and defense electronics, engineering and construction, and business and special mission aircraft. Raytheon has operations throughout the United States and serves customers in more than 80 countries around the world.