PRESS RELEASES
Includes Option for T²CAS™ Terrain & Traffic Collision Avoidance System
Contact:
Steve Henden
Manager, Communications
ACSS, an L-3 Communications & Thales Company
623-445-7021
PHOENIX, March 24, 2004 - ACSS, an L-3 Communications & Thales Company, today announced that its TCAS 2000 traffic alert and collision avoidance system and Mode S transponder was selected by Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise (SALE) as the baseline configuration for 20 new Airbus A320 aircraft, with an option to upgrade to T²CAS™ (Terrain and Traffic Collision Avoidance System), in the future.
“This contract is an important win for us,” said Joe Hoffman, president of ACSS. “SALE is a new customer that gives us stronger penetration into the important aircraft leasing market, and further confirms the leadership of our TCAS 2000 and Mode S, while increasing the market acceptance of the T²CAS.”
The TCAS 2000 traffic alert and collision warning system has earned acclaim throughout aviation for its extended range surveillance capability (able to track aircraft beyond 100 nautical miles) using its ADS-B (Automatic Dependence Surveillance-Broadcast) extended squitter function.
The TCAS 2000 is designed to meet future requirements such as Change 8, Airborne Separation Assurance System (ASAS) and ADS-B hybrid surveillance. The TCAS 2000 computer is easily upgradeable to ACSS’s integrated ACAS II/TAWS solution, known as T²CAS™, by adding the innovative Thales Avionics Ground Collision Avoidance Module to the TCAS 2000 LRU.
SALE is one of the world's premier leasing companies, with offices in Singapore, London, Washington D.C. and San Diego, Calif. The company currently has 53 aircraft in service with 29 airlines worldwide, with 20 more on firm order for delivery through to 2007.
ACSS (Aviation Communication & Surveillance Systems), an L-3 Communications & Thales Company, is a leader in safety avionics systems. ACSS products include the TCAS 2000 traffic alert and collision avoidance systems; MASS™, an enhanced TCAS for military operations; a family of Mode S transponders; the T2CAS™, a combined traffic and terrain collision avoidance system; TAWS+, a stand-alone 2-MCU terrain awareness warning system; and Dlink+, a communications management unit, VDL Mode 2 digital radio, and control display unit in one package. More than 9,000 units of ACSS’s products are operating in commercial, corporate and military aircraft. To learn more about ACSS, please visit the company's web site at www.acssonboard.com
Headquartered in Velizy (France), Thales Avionics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Thales, is the European leader and world-renowned partner in avionics and cabin electronics and a world leader in professional electronics for civil and defense markets. To learn more about Thales Avionics, please visit the company's web site at www.thales-avionics.com.
Headquartered in New York City, L-3 Communications is a leading merchant supplier of secure communications systems and products, avionics and ocean products, training products, microwave components and telemetry, instrumentation, space and wireless products. Its customers include the Department of Defense, selected US government intelligence agencies, aerospace prime contractors and commercial telecommunications and wireless customers. To learn more about L-3 Communications, please visit the company's web site at www.L-3Com.com.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this news release are forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements set forth above involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any such statement, including the risks and uncertainties discussed in the company's Safe Harbor Compliance Statement for Forward-looking Statements included in the company's recent filings, including Forms 10-K and 10-Q, with the Securities and Exchange Commission.