With U.S. and European ADS-B Out mandates nearing, ACSS announced yesterday that it has delivered the 10,000th production unit of its NXT mode-S transponder family. The company, a joint venture between L3 and Thales, said its NXT-600, -700, and -800 units provide business, commercial, and military aircraft the capability to operate in ADS-B airspace.
Thus, the FAA and EASA mandates requiring aircraft to be equipped with ADS-B Out by January 2020 and June 2020, respectively, have led to a significant uptick in orders and deliveries, it said. Yesterday’s milestone follows the delivery of ACSS’s 5,000th NXT unit in March 2018, about four years after the NXT family’s introduction.
“The industry has worked hard to put plans in place to meet the upcoming FAA and EASA deadlines,” said ACSS president Terry Flaishans. “We’ve been working closely with operators and airlines for a number of years to fully prepare them for this change, and the delivery of our 10,000th unit is a testament to this. However, there are a number of smaller carriers and business jet operators that still need to complete the necessary planning. We strongly recommend that they conclude this shortly, with the mandate now a matter of months away.”