Saab Broadens Global ATM Product Suite with HITT Integration

Saab’s recent acquisition of HITT Group and its purchase of Sensis Corporation in 2011, building on their in house ATM portfolio, are steps in the company’s strategic march toward global traffic management leadership. Saab is now a source of proven, integrated ATM solutions that address critical surveillance, traffic flow management and collaboration challenges for customers around the world. With its combined portfolio of ATM products and customers Saab now has more than 250 systems installed in more than 40 countries.

Saab acquired Sensis in October of 2011 and HITT in late 2012 to address the growing global ATM market with a complimentary blend of products, capabilities and expertise from noted industry leaders and innovators. Building on Saab’s leading remote air traffic control tower system and tower products such as electronic flight strips, HITT adds several decades of airport surface safety expertise through its leading A3000 Advanced – Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (A-SMGCS) and airport operations efficiency systems. The company has a strong presence with systems in Europe, Asia and increasingly, South America which recently resulted with being selected for the delivery of A-SMGCS in Rio and Curitiba (Brazil).

“In addition to our proven, widely deployed A-SMGCS and related products, HITT brings an extensive customer base, both in Europe, the Far East and emerging markets such as India and Latin America, that furthers Saab’s global ATM presence and opportunities,” said Jan Terlouw, director of aviation of HITT. “The result of the integration with Saab-Sensis is a customer-focused, innovative company that assists in more than twice the number of aircraft surface movements as the nearest competitor.”

Saab Sensis brings over 25 years of developing and deploying air traffic surface, terminal and en route airspace systems, including pioneering work in the acceptance of multilateration and Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) for improved safety and efficiency. The company also initiated the first airport surface management system, Aerobahn, for efficiency gains in the non-movement areas of airports and continues to provide technical leadership to numerous NextGen initiatives through its Advanced Development group.

“Our customers face increased pressure to reduce costs while handling more aircraft operations from existing capacity-constrained airports. We are striving to further automate ATC tower functionality for improved safety and efficiency,” said Marc Viggiano, chief executive officer of Saab Sensis. ‘The result is a suite of harmonized technologies that address today’s and tomorrow’s challenges in the tower, on the airport surface and in the en route airspace.”

Saab’s ATM products and solutions directly address the safe and efficient movement of air traffic. Though its ATM Center of Excellence located at the Saab Sensis headquarters, the combined organization is developing, deploying and maintaining systems in more than 40 countries and is leading the future of ATM through extensive participation in NextGen and SESAR.