[SatNews] Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS) has been awarded a 10-year contract, with an expected value of $98 million, by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to upgrade and manage the system that provides real-time weather data and flight-planning capabilities for Alaska’s general aviation community—the contract includes three base years and seven one-year options.

Under the Operational and Supportability Implementation System (OASIS) II program, Harris will provide integrated flight planning and real-time weather briefing capabilities to FAA Flight Service specialists. OASIS also supports Notice to Airmen messages—which alert pilots to potential hazards and provides up-to-date radar and satellite imagery. OASIS II will be the first consumer of System Wide Information Management in National Airspace System (NAS). As a part of the contract Harris also will provide system test and maintenance support services.

Harris was awarded the original OASIS contract in 1997, and it is currently operational at 18 sites in Alaska and four support sites in the continental U.S.

“OASIS is critical to ensuring the safety of general aviation aircraft operating in Alaska’s challenging weather conditions and remote mountainous terrain,” said John O’Sullivan, vice president, NextGen Initiatives, Harris Government Communications Systems. “As a managed service, OASIS ensures low-risk, cost-effective modernization of the FAA’s technology infrastructure in Alaska and leverages the experience we have gained from other managed services programs.”

Harris has a long history of developing and integrating system solutions for the FAA in support of the NAS. The company is the prime contractor for the FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure (FTI) program, which provides critical voice, data and video communications for NAS operations and mission support functions. FTI securely connects more than 4,300 national and international FAA and DOD facilities, manages over 26,000 services, and supports more than 50,000 users. Other FAA programs developed by Harris include:

• The Weather and Radar Processor, which provides weather processing dissemination and display capabilities to air traffic controllers in the en-route air traffic control environment
• Data Communications Integrated Services, which provides air-to-ground digital data link networks to connect FAA air traffic control sites and data communications-equipped aircraft
• The NAS Voice System, which provides a secure, IP-based voice network for critical communications between air traffic controllers, pilots and ground personnel nationwide
• The Alaskan Satellite Telecommunications Infrastructure program, which provides voice and data communications between the Alaskan Air Route Traffic Control Center in Anchorage and 64 regional FAA sites

Additional details are available at the Harris OASIS infosite: http://govcomm.harris.com/solutions/products/atc/oasis-atc.asp