A Raytheon employee demonstrates the Multi-platform ATC Re-hosting Solution, or MARS for short, which the company has prototyped and will offer to air traffic management and military agencies around the world.
Raytheon, a Fortune 500 company specializing in defense, cybersecurity and civil government technology, announced a partnership with airspace intelligence platform AirMap earlier this year. Now, the companies have announced the first product of that partnership: an integration of AirMap’s drone monitoring capabilities into Raytheon’s next-gen air traffic controller workstation.
AirMap has longevity and significant presence in the drone industry – and Raytheon has government customers and the enterprise background to make a major impact on air traffic control. The combination may make a significant impact on drone integration into the airspace and one of the major components of unmanned traffic management.
Raytheon, AirMap virtually demo drone monitoring tools on next-generation air traffic control workstation
System offers streamlined access to real-time data, improving drone integration and safety
WASHINGTON, D.C., (Oct. 21, 2019) – Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) and AirMap, the leading global airspace intelligence platform for drones, have integrated AirMap’s unmanned aerial systems (UAS) monitoring capabilities onto a working prototype of Raytheon’s next-generation air traffic controller workstation called Multi-platform ATC Re-hosting Solution, or MARS.
With this integration, MARS now offers air traffic controllers streamlined access to UAS monitoring designed to improve the safety of drone integration. The MARS workstation integrates commercial off-the-shelf technologies into a consolidated touchscreen display that provides access to multiple automation applications at one workstation, without changing re-hosted applications.
“When drones fly in controlled airspace, they’re sharing the skies with many other types of aircraft,” said Matt Gilligan, vice president of Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services. “Air traffic controllers need real-time airspace awareness and alerts to unusual drone activity; it’s a key step on the path toward safe drone integration into the national airspace system.”
AirMap’s intelligent airspace management tools, such as real-time remote identification, airspace authorization, and dynamic geofencing provide air traffic controllers access to UAS flight data through automated digital technologies.
In the virtual demonstration, the AirMap technology alerts the MARS user of a drone exhibiting unusual or non-conforming flight behavior within the controlled airspace surrounding a major airport.
“Air traffic controllers, as well as UAS operators and manned aircraft pilots, need situational awareness,” said Ben Marcus, Chairman and Co-founder of AirMap. “With Raytheon, we’re working to optimize how controllers can be armed with information about UAS without burdensome increases in workload.”
About Raytheon
Raytheon Company, with 2018 sales of $27 billion and 67,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 97 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5I™ products and services, sensing, effects and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. Follow us on Twitter.
About AirMap
AirMap is the world’s leading airspace intelligence platform for the drone economy. Industry developers, drone operators, and airspace managers rely on AirMap’s airspace intelligence and services to fly safely and communicate in low-altitude airspace. AirMap unlocks safe, efficient, and scalable operations by connecting the world’s drones to airspace authorities through an open platform of APIs and SDKs, with integrations by top drone manufacturers and solution providers including 3DR, DroneDeploy, Matternet, and senseFly. Deployed in the Czech Republic, Japan, Switzerland, the United States, and available in over 25 countries, AirMap leads the industry in delivering technology solutions for UAS Traffic Management (UTM) and U-space to enable safe and responsible drone operations at scale. AirMap supports several drone enablement and research projects.
Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a professional drone services marketplace, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and the regulatory environment for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space and is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for new technologies.
For drone industry consulting or writing, Email Miriam.
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