Adrian is Auckland bureau chief for Aviation Week, based in New Zealand. He covers commercial aviation in the Asia-Pacific region.
Adrian was previously based in Aviation Week’s Washington office for nine years, writing for a range of the group’s publications and covering many aspects of the commercial aviation industry. He has won Australasian and international awards for his aviation writing.
Prior to joining Aviation Week in 2002, Adrian covered aviation industry and policy issues for two other publishing companies in Washington. He has also worked for newspapers in Texas and New Zealand, covering a wide range of topics. Adrian graduated from Auckland University with a degree in history and English in 1992.
The FAA is about to take major steps in two long-running projects that will update its core air traffic control systems and form an essential base for the NextGen modernization program. The agency is set to begin replacing the main operating system at the largest terminal control facilities under a new agreement with Raytheon, with work under way at the first of these sites. Meanwhile, the FAA is preparing to give the final go-ahead for nationwide deployment of the new en route system that has been developed by Lockheed Martin.
FAA hopes by the end of March to make an “in-service” decision on its new en route air traffic control system, which would clear the way for nationwide deployment. The system has been operating smoothly at the two initial sites in Salt Lake City and Seattle, and the next center on the list will probably be Minneapolis, says FAA Chief Operating Officer Hank Krakowski. The En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM) system will be the main operational platform for controllers at all of FAA’s en route centers and is a crucial precursor for the broader NextGen program.
The FAA is almost ready to begin the nationwide rollout of the new en route air traffic control system that is one of the crucial foundations of the NextGen modernization effort. While the En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM) program has endured timetable slips, the system has been operating continuously at the Salt Lake City center for a couple of months, says FAA Chief Operating Officer Hank Krakowski. It also has been in full-time operation at Seattle. ERAM is the core system that will be used to control traffic at FAA’s 22 en route centers.
