T²CAS™ FINISHES A STRONG 2003
New Safety System Surpasses 20 Customers
Receives FAA Certification and 1st STC

Contact:
Steve Henden
Manager, Communications
ACSS, an L-3 Communications & Thales Company
623-445-7021

PHOENIX, January 12, 2004 – ACSS, an L-3 Communications & Thales Company, completed a strong 2003 sales year for T²CAS, the combined traffic and terrain avoidance system. In addition to completing a contract with Raytheon for T²CAS to be offered as a retrofit solution for the B1900B and B1900C models, ACSS is working on applications programs for more than 20 customers and counting.

“It was an excellent year for us and for T²CAS,” said Joe Hoffman, ACSS president. “Our combined terrain and traffic system is impressing the most important operators in civil and military aviation and we appreciate the confidence they have shown in us.”

T²CAS received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification in February 2003, and received its first supplemental type certification (STC) on board an AVRO-85 operated by Mesaba Airlines in November 2003.

T²CAS is a unique safety avionics product that combines a performance-based terrain awareness warning system (TAWS) with the industry’s leading traffic alert and collision avoidance system, the TCAS 2000. The system has been designed as a “plug-and-play” replacement for the TCAS 2000, ACSS’s second generation TCAS II currently flying on more than 7,000 corporate, regional, air transport and military aircraft.

Along with optional Windshear and GPS, T²CAS provides a powerful combination of functionalities that result in space, wiring, weight and power savings. T²CAS is a performance-based system that can be applied to any business, regional, air transport or military aircraft to avoid Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT), which gives operators more time to clear terrain and traffic with an increased margin to maneuver and reduce nuisance alerts. The Ground Collision Avoidance Module (GCAM) within T²CAS enables Modes 1-5 and provides unique predictive warnings and cockpit displays.

Among the patented features is a Terrain Advisory Line that indicates where the terrain is should the aircraft continue on its current flight path. The length and duration of the alert line mirrors the cautionary terrain segment within 30 degrees either side of the aircraft flight path, out to four minutes in front of the aircraft. When the GCAM detects that the aircraft does not have sufficient climb capability to clear the terrain by a standard vertical recovery maneuver, it generates a unique identifiable “Avoid Terrain” aural-visual alert.

ACSS (Aviation Communication & Surveillance Systems), an L-3 Communications & Thales Company, is a leader in safety avionics systems. ACSS products include the TCAS 2000 traffic alert and collision avoidance systems, a family of Mode S transponders, the T 2 CAS, a combined traffic and terrain collision avoidance system, and MASS, an enhanced TCAS system for military operations. More than 9,000 units of ACSS's TCAS products are operating in commercial, corporate and military aircraft. To learn more about ACSS, please visit the company's web site at www.L-3com.com/acss.

Thales Avionics, the European leader and world-renowned partner in avionics, utilities and inflight entertainment, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of THALES, a world leader in professional electronics for civil and defense markets. To learn more about Thales Avionics, please visit the company's web site at www.thales-avionics.com.

Headquartered in New York City, L-3 Communications is a leading merchant supplier of secure communications systems and products, avionics and ocean products, training products, microwave components and telemetry, instrumentation, space and wireless products. Its customers include the Department of Defense, selected US government intelligence agencies, aerospace prime contractors and commercial telecommunications and wireless customers. To learn more about L-3 Communications, please visit the company's web site at www.L-3Com.com .