Saab Transpondertech to supply AIS Network for Romania

June 10, 2009

Saab TransponderTech AB, the international leader in Automatic Identification System (AIS) technology, today announced that it has installed more than 15,000 shipboard AIS transponders and 1,500 AIS base stations around the world.

“This is a major milestone and underscores Saab’s clear position of market dominance in maritime AIS,” said Gunnar Mangs, vice president, sales and marketing, Saab TransponderTech. “We have established our company’s AIS products as the preferred solutions for both shipboard and shoreside applications.”

Saab TransponderTech was an early pioneer in the development of AIS technology and was the first company to introduce AIS ship transponders to the market in the 1990s. Since then, the company has broadened its product lines to encompass integrated AIS-DGPS systems, AIS base stations and networks, airborne AIS transponders and secure AIS for government and military users, as well as a full range of AIS-based coastal surveillance and vessel traffic and information systems.

“Our fourth-generation R4 series of ship transponders are specified and installed by most leading integrated bridge system suppliers,” said Mangs. “We offer a wide range of solutions for stand-alone and integrated AIS and DGPS installations to meet shipowners’ requirements. Last year, we also introduced the industry’s first approved Class-B AIS transponder for non-SOLAS ships, as well as a new AIS transponder designed specifically to meet EU requirements for navigation on inland waterways.”

“We are seeing tremendous growth in land-based AIS infrastructure for coastal surveillance and inland waterways,” said Mangs. “With over 1,500 base stations in 50 countries, Saab is the number one supplier of AIS land-based infrastructure.”

Last year, Saab was awarded a major contract to supply more than 100 coastal AIS stations for Germany, and the company has also recently taken orders for AIS network installations in Malaysia and Romania, according to Mangs.

The company has also reported strong sales of its airborne AIS products for helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, Mangs added.