Avionics and information management specialist Rockwell Collins has continued to achieve success in the Asia-Pacific region and has announced a number of new deals during the Singapore Airshow. Included is an order to upgrade four Boeing 737-300s of Singapore-based Airmark Aviation with the TPR-901 Mode S transponder and GPS-4000S global positioning system sensor as part of an ADS-B Out solution. Airmark holds an option on a fifth upgrade.
Another Singapore-headquartered company, BOC Aviation, has selected Rockwell Collins (Stand D23) to provide the avionics for 74 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft it has on order. Included in the suite are TTR-2100 TCAS-II system, GLU-2100 multi-mode receiver, MultiScan ThreatTrack weather radar and an ICS-300 Iridium satellite communications unit. Last year BOC Aviation also received 33 Next-Generation Boeing 737s with Rockwell Collins avionics.
Further afield, Taiwan has become the first international customer for the AR-1500 networked communications airborne radio, part of Rockwell Collins’s TruNet family. The equipment will be built in Taiwan by AIDC and will have country-specific features and waveforms to meet secure voice, data and imagery transfer requirements.
In the civil transport arena, Japan Airlines has deployed the Rockwell Collins ARINC AviNet Airport network solution at 51 of its operating locations, both at home and overseas. The network connects passenger-processing systems with the airline’s departure control system, and is one of the largest in the Asia-Pacific region. In Papua New Guinea, the National Airports Corporation has renewed its contract with Rockwell Collins ARINC Airport Solutions as part of its 2030 “smart airports” program. With the focus on Port Moresby-Jacksons International Airport, Rockwell Collins ARINC is providing a range of products, such as vMUSE, AirVue, AirDB, AirPlan and Veripax, that enhance capabilities in areas such as passenger-processing, flight information display, operational databases, and optimization of passenger flow through security checkpoints.
One area where Rockwell Collins has achieved considerable success is the commercial head-up display (HUD) market. In late December, a Shandong Airlines Boeing 737 equipped with a Rockwell Collins Head-up Guidance System (HGS) made the first takeoff by a Chinese commercial aircraft in conditions below the normal 150-meter runway visual range limits. Numerous other flights were delayed when fog beset Jinan-Yaoqiang International Airport, but HGS-equipped aircraft were cleared to operate. With China’s air traffic continuing to rise, and fog and haze a regular hindrance, head-up display systems are seen as an important factor in minimizing schedule disruptions.