RTX Expands Florida Facility to Boost Next-Gen Air Traffic Radar Production

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The global airspace is congested and complex – and it’s putting a lot of pressure on radar systems designed for a previous era of flight.

To manage today’s mix of commercial flights, manned military aircraft, UAVs and even space launches, operators need real-time, pinpoint-accurate data showing where aircraft are in relation to one another.

Fast facts

• On average, there are more than 45,000 flights a day in U.S. airspace.
• Traffic is expected to double by 2040.

Collins Aerospace, an RTX business, was selected by the Federal Aviation Administration to help accelerate that effort with two radars that are now central to the modernization push: the Condor Mk3 and the ASR-XM. Both will be produced at the Collins site in Largo, Florida, which is undergoing a $26.5 million capacity-expansion project.

Here’s how these radars – and scaling up their production – will make the modern airspace more manageable.

“Customers need secure, interoperable systems for seamless coordination. This expansion strengthens our ability to deliver critical capabilities that keep passengers and aircrews safe,” said Nate Boelkins, President of Avionics, Collins Aerospace

The next generation of Collins radars is designed to give air traffic controllers a more reliable view of the modern airspace than they have today. They’re built to:

• Blend multiple detection technologies to help minimize blind spots as air traffic continues to grow.
• Maintain consistent tracking even in challenging conditions, including severe weather, as well as interference from 5G environments and wind farms.
• Support higher traffic volumes with more precise data – especially as flight patterns become more congested and complex.
• Adapt quickly to new airspace users, thanks to a modular, open-system architecture.