Changing a PAACS: New Barriers, Relocations and Replacements

Adding a Barrier on Another Runway

When Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson added a BAK-14 barrier on a second runway, GDS extended the existing system to cover it. The new barrier needed a control and a non-control controller, and the controllers already in the tower and shop needed added I/O modules. The tower received two new panels and the shop one.

The larger change was in the software. Adding the runway turned a single-runway installation into a dual-runway system, which meant building a new application and re-encrypting every site so the existing and new equipment work as one system. The installation was scheduled around the base's non-flying times.

Moving Controls During Construction

At Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas, the building that housed a BAK-15 control panel was being renovated. GDS fabricated a 150-foot cable so the panel could operate from the MSN-7 mobile tower during the work, then reinstalled it in the renovated building on July 13, 2024. When an I/O module failed the night of the move, unrelated to the relocation, GDS replaced it.

Replacing Another Vendor's System

At Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the base asked GDS whether its third-party barrier controls could be saved. After an inspection, GDS replaced them with PAACS for four BAK-14 barriers across both runways, using Motorola ACE3600 controllers and encrypted communications.

Flooding also damages pit equipment. After a barrier pit flooded at Fort Smith Regional Airport, GDS supplied a replacement unit.

Building a New System

For Fort Smith Regional Airport in Arkansas, which shares its runway with Ebbing Air National Guard Base, GDS installed a new encrypted PAACS of seven controllers for two BAK-14 barriers in four pits, covering the tower, the control and non-control pits, the fire station and the shop. Cycle testing is where installation problems show up. At that site it caught raise and lower wired in reverse at the barriers, and GDS made a return trip to correct it.

Where GDS Fits

Because GDS builds PAACS, we can extend or change an installed system without replacing it. Send the runway layout, barrier models and existing part numbers, and we'll scope the change. Our project record lists this work by year.