FAA awarded a $2.77 million contract to ITT Exelis and GE’s Naverus to help accelerate the development of required navigation performance (RNP) approach procedures, under the agency’s System Engineering 2020 (SE2020) portfolio.
Under the contract, ITT Exelis, the prime contractor, and GE’s Naverus, the sub-contractor, will develop RNP approach procedures into five airports: Ted Stevens Anchorage International in Alaska, James M. Cox Dayton International in Ohio, Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport in Kansas City, Mo., General Mitchell International in Milwaukee, Wis., and Syracuse Hancock International in New York. ITT Exelis and GE’s Naverus will be responsible for designing, implementing and maintaining a total of 10 procedures – two for each airport. FAA will closely monitor the work to make sure all safety and environmental steps are conducted properly. This effort will supplement the FAA’s work to develop RNP procedures for airports across the country. The FAA has developed 305 RNP procedures.
“If you imagine highways in the sky, then these are high-speed off ramps,” said Acting FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. “Aircraft using RNP approaches make a more direct and efficient approach into the airport, also decreasing fuel burn.”