The U.S. Air Force tapped Austrian tech company Frequentis to provide virtual air traffic control systems by October, National Defense reported Thursday.
Mark Robinson, head of air traffic management at Frequentis, said at the Avalon Airshow in Australia that the company will deliver a total of four fixed and deployable smartVISION tower systems consisting of cameras, high-fidelity monitors and surveillance technologies designed for aircraft identification. Robinson noted that the cameras, which cost up to $3 million, have the capacity to monitor airspace and transmit visual data to locations as far as 1,000 miles away.Â
Ed Wright, executive director of the Air Force Flight Standards Agency, said in a statement that Frequentis’ air traffic management system can “reduce the risk to controllers and infrastructure, while reducing capital investments and allowing for the optimization of our resources.†Civilian customers in New Zealand, Argentina and Germany have previously purchased smartVISION systems from the Vienna-based firm.Â
