CSC to upgrade air traffic system

Federal Aviation Administration officials have hired Computer Sciences Corp. to modernize parts of the national airspace system.

The Traffic Flow Modernization Contract is intended to increase the capacity of the nation's airspace and reduce costs by enabling collaboration between airlines, researchers and the FAA. CSC's task is to develop an open architecture platform and upgrade the core elements of the FAA's existing system.

Company officials estimate that about 80 percent of the work will be upgrading the existing architecture and the rest on adding new functionality.

"CSC built the FAA's current Traffic Flow Management system, and we are honored to be selected for the TFM modernization," said Thomas Anderson, president of CSC's information technology and science solutions division, in a statement.

The initial design phase of the contract is worth $13.5 million, according to CSC officials. The total contract, if it runs for its three-year base and all four two-year options, will be about $589 million.

CSC's team for the project includes Harris Corp., Unisys Corp., Optimus Corp., Hi-Tec Systems Inc., Sensis Corp., Z-Tech Corp., Planning Systems Inc., CAN Corp. Technology and Management Associates and Quail Ridge Industries.