Rockwell Collins unveils plane-tracking system

CEDAR RAPIDS - A year after the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids on Monday unveiled a global aircraft tracking system.

ARINC MultiLink is able to merge six or more sources of aircraft positional data to track a plane worldwide. It also will alert air traffic controllers and the airline if an airliner has deviated from its expected flight path or is no longer transmitting data.

'This system is not designed to deal with nefarious issues on the flight deck, but it is able to alert people on the ground much sooner that something is wrong,” said Tim Ryan, director of Rockwell Collins GLOBALink programs and services management.

Jeff Standerski, senior vice president, Information Management Services for Rockwell Collins, said the use of multiple sources means an aircraft's position can be reported more frequently.

'In today's global aviation environment, no single source of data is sufficient to track aircraft globally,” Standerski said. 'By merging multiple data sources, many of which airlines already receive, we can automatically select the right combination of data feeds to allow airlines to pinpoint an aircraft's location anywhere in the world, in the most economical way.”

Ryan said the company's proprietary high-frequency data link provides information generated automatically by the aircraft.

'Using the unique propagation characteristics of HFDL enables ARINC MultiLink to communicate with properly equipped aircraft operating in remote regions and over the oceans,” Ryan said.

ARINC MultiLink will be offered as an add-on to Rockwell Collins's ARINC OpCenter or Hermes/Skyview products, which are used by 125 airlines around the world, said Dave Poltorak, Rockwell Collins vice president, aviation and network services.

A task force led by the International Air Transport Association is expected to announce voluntary recommendations this month for the industry to be able to track an aircraft's position every 15 minutes.