Lockheed wins en route deal

The Federal Aviation Administration awarded Lockheed Martin Corp. a contract worth up to $125 million June 11 to develop and field the En Route Communications Gateway (ECG), which will connect data from radar sites to the FAA's system of en route air traffic control centers.

ECG will replace the Peripheral Adapter Module Replacement Item, a 10-year-old system that originally was designed as a temporary replacement for 1960s technology.

It will be installed at the FAA's 21 air route traffic control centers, which manage flights between airports, as well as at two additional sites in Oklahoma and New Jersey.

The Seattle center will receive ECG first. The FAA expects it to be operational there by summer 2003.