Raytheon will provide GPS air navigation technology to support the Federal Aviation Administration‘s space-based Wide Area Augmentation System under a $103 million contract.
The company said Tuesday it will field the payload that will be incorporated into the WAAS system’s geostationary Earth orbit satellite and two ground uplink stations.
“The WAAS system is a critical component to ensuring our national airspace remains safe, especially with the increased volume of air traffic, ” said Michael Espinola, managing director of Raytheon’s air traffic systems unit.
The system works to facilitate GPS accuracy for both aviation safety and efficiency, Raytheon said.
Raytheon added that the WAAS GEO 6 payload, which is scheduled for launch in the second quarter of 2017, will support the transmission of GPS signals from the ground stations to the user aircraft.
