CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (April 10, 2012)- Rockwell Collins will tout the increased importance of modernizing the air transportation system for the 21st century during a trio of speaking engagements in the weeks ahead.

Clay Jones, chairman, president and CEO, and Dave Vos, senior director of Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) & Control Technologies, are attending the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s 11th Annual Aviation Summit today in Washington, D.C.

Jones is part of a CEO panel that’s discussing the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) initiative. Vos is among a panel of experts discussing new entrants into aviation and aerospace, such as the integration of UAS technologies in commercial airspace.

NextGen is the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) plan to transform the national airspace using current technologies to move passengers from city to city safely while reducing operational delays as well as aviation’s environmental impact.

According to Jones, transforming the current system into a GPS-based (Global Positioning System) navigation system will increase connectivity and information sharing among all users of the air traffic control system.

“The aircraft is the common element in the global airspace,” said Jones. “Operational density can vary from region to region but an aircraft may fly through all of them, which is why we need to make sure they are equipped with the appropriate equipment and technologies.”

Rockwell Collins produces several powerful technologies – Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) In/Out, head-up displays, head-down displays, communication, navigation and surveillance platforms, synthetic vision, voice recognition and touch screens – that will help pilots make appropriate decisions in the advanced airspace.

Later this month, Kent Statler, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Commercial Systems, will delve into the industry’s strategies for moving NextGen forward in the wake of the FAA Reauthorization. Statler will give the keynote address at Aviation Week’s NextGen Ahead Air Transportation Modernization Conference on Tuesday, April 24, in Washington, D.C.