SINGAPORE—Airlines extending the operating lives of their aircraft, combined with requirements to install updated interference-tolerant radio altimeters, are driving growing demand for avionics retrofits in the Asia-Pacific region, Thales said.
Thales has secured contracts to retrofit its 5G-immune Long-Range Radio Altimeter (LRRA) on a significant number of aircraft in the region, covering both in-service aircraft and newly delivered aircraft.
“Aircraft can remain in service for decades, while the communications environment around them changes much faster,” Thomas Mouveaux, Thales general manager APAC for Aviation Global Services, told Aviation Week at MRO Asia Pacific.
Mouveaux said airlines in the region operate diverse aircraft configurations across various regulatory and spectrum environments, creating varying requirements for avionics upgrades.
Thales is working with airlines to meet regulatory mandates while minimizing disruption to operations. The company is providing LRRA exchange units that enable airlines to rapidly replace and upgrade their radio altimeters without requiring aircraft to remain grounded for extended periods. Removed units are subsequently upgraded and tested at Thales facilities, like the one in Singapore.
Beyond interference-tolerant requirements, airlines are also seeking newer avionics capabilities to improve flight operations, safety and maintenance. These include flight management systems and newer variants of the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System.
From an avionics MRO perspective, Mouveaux said access to components and spares remains a key challenge. New components must meet stringent safety, reliability and certification requirements, while MRO providers also need sufficient repair capacity and specialized technical expertise.
“The response has been to build more resilience into the supply chain, securing manufacturing capacity, ensuring a global talent network and maintaining strategic inventory where appropriate,” he said.
Related Content
