Harris Corporation will purchase SolaCom Technologies’s air traffic control (ATC) business unit to expand its product line and customer base.

With the acquisition, Harris will expand its presence in all segments of the air traffic control voice / data systems market and solutions for air traffic facilities and radio communications between airplanes in flight and air traffic controllers.

The company will also be able to support the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) next-generation air transportation system with the buy.

The ATC unit’s next-generation radio control equipment solutions provide extremely reliable voice switching and conferencing capabilities, Harris says.

Furthermore, ATC’s Liberty-STAR high-performance ATC switch – an integrated radio equipment and network adaptor – as well as network routing and circuit adaption solutions will be added to the company’s product line.

The business unit will be a part of Harris Mission Critical Networks, which develops critical components for communications and weather solutions.

SolaCom CEO Franz Plangger said that the transaction will support accelerated growth of the company’s remaining business drivers.

SolaCom has been providing critical communication systems for air traffic control, public safety, homeland security and C4I.

Harris, a communications and information technology company, had been awarded a contract for FAA’s telecommunication infrastructure system.