Lockheed Delivers Air Traffic System Early

A Lockheed Martin Corp.-led team delivered a new air traffic control computer system more than 10 months ahead of schedule and $3 million under budget, U.S. officials said. The new system, unveiled at the Chicago regional air traffic control center, is expected to reduce outages by 98%, an FAA spokesman said. It will replace a 1970-vintage IBM Corp. data-processing computer. The Chicago center has been hit particularly hard by system failures. One outage in 1995 lasted five days and another in the same year resulted in 234 flight delays. Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin is the lead contractor on the project, which was expected to cost about $64 million.