Also Wins Contract For Air China 737 Avionics

Rockwell Collins announced Monday plans for opening an engineering center in Hyderabad, India. The Hyderabad center, which represents an expansion of Rockwell Collins employment, is scheduled to begin providing services in October. The center will help Rockwell Collins satisfy its growing demand for engineering talent by hiring 500 people over the next five years.

"Our new facility in India will enhance our presence in this emerging region and provide us with increased access to high-quality engineering and design talent," said Nan Mattai, senior vice president of Engineering and Technology for Rockwell Collins.

The new facility will be dedicated to hardware and software development, with initial work focused on the design of displays and flight management systems. Rockwell Collins is currently hiring management for the facility, and is actively recruiting engineers and support personnel.

Rockwell Collins already has a presence in India through its existing relationship with HCL Technologies Ltd. Approximately 300 HCL engineers, professionals and experts are dedicated to Rockwell Collins to perform design, development and testing related work for hardware and software based products at design centers in Chennai and Bangalore. Rockwell Collins will continue its relationship with HCL.

Also on Monday, the company announced Air China has selected a suite of Rockwell Collins avionics for 11 Boeing 737-800 aircraft, which are being leased from GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS). Delivery begins in 2008 and continues through 2010.

"Air China has been a long-time customer of Rockwell Collins' proven avionics and maintenance services, and we are pleased to continue to grow and strengthen our relationship," said Jeff Standerski, vice president and general manager, Air Transport Systems for Rockwell Collins.

Rockwell Collins' WXR-2100 MultiScan Hazard Detection System is the first and only radar that analyzes and determines actual weather hazards, not simply atmospheric moisture content. MultiScan is a fully automatic, hands-free airborne radar system with more than four years of operational experience that reduces pilot workload and enhances safety and passenger comfort by minimizing unexpected turbulence encounters, and provides optimal clutter-free weather detection from the nose of the aircraft to 320 nautical miles.

The suite of avionics selected by Air China also includes: Automatic Direction Finder ADF-900, Direction Finding Antenna DFA-901, Distance Measuring Equipment DME-900, Data Radio HFS-900D, Coupling Unit CPL-920D, GPS Landing Unit GLU-925, Passenger Address Unit PAU-700, Low-range Radio Altimeter LRA-900,Very High Frequency Transceiver VHF-2100 and VHF Omnidirectional Range/Marker Beacon Receiver VOR-900.

FMI: www.rockwellcollins.com