Hughes Aircraft Gets FAA Contract Worth $140 Million

Hughes Aircraft Co. said Wednesday it has received a $140.4-million contract from the Federal Aviation Administration to build an oceanic air traffic control system to make overseas flights more efficient.

Hughes said its Fullerton-based Aviation Information Management Systems subsidiary will handle the project with assistance from its Hughes Aircraft of Canada Ltd. subsidiary.

The contract is not expected to create many jobs, although up to 150 existing positions will be assigned to the project at peak stages at facilities in Fullerton, Washington and Atlantic City, N.J., site of the FAA Technical Center.

The work, which includes development of communications hardware and software for pilot-to-controller communications, automated position reporting and regional flight information communications, will be done in stages to minimize interruptions to operations. The initial stage is to be completed in 1997, Hughes said.