Raytheon Company has been awarded a contract by Saudi Arabia General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) for a nationwide air traffic management system based upon cooperative surveillance.

The contract will extend air traffic control surveillance throughout the kingdom. It will also enhance flight safety for the rapidly growing domestic airline sector and improve the efficiency of Saudi Arabia's air traffic management system.

Under the program, 21 systems with supporting infrastructure will be deployed for en route service.

Raytheon will also establish a regional maintenance facility within the kingdom to support the systems. The facility will be used to support current and future systems deployed in the Middle East for other air navigation service providers.

Factory acceptance testing of the first system will be completed in November and, when installed at the GACA Training Academy, facilitate joint implementation of the program as well as continuity of training.

'Raytheon has been an essential partner on this very important project, and we look forward to establishing a long and enduring relationship,' said Mohammed Ahmed Al-Salmi, GACA vice president of Air Navigation Services.

Raytheon Company, with 2008 sales of $23.2 billion, is a technology and innovation leader specialising in defence, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world.

With a history of innovation spanning 87 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services.-TradeArabia News Service