Fidus business development VP Peter Connolly (Photo supplied)

Fidus Systems continued its winning streak Monday, bagging an 18-month design contract with New York-based Telephonics Corp. to design its automatic identification system (AIS) transceiver product.

The technology design company will be helping Telephonics create a system which will help helicopters and planes use radar to identify ships on the high seas and see where they are going and what they are doing.

"This is a new area of technology we had not worked on before... and a new geography for us in New York," says Fidus vice-president of business development Peter Connolly. "And since it's a new technology, a lot of companies are scrambling to develop projects for the market."

As the AIS system is mandatory for all new ships and is soon expected to be retrofitted on older ships, this is an emerging market, says Mr. Connolly, calling Fidus's work on AIS "a leading-edge technology."

He adds that Telephonics was impressed with Fidus's design team, and says he expects the deal will translate into a longer-term relationship with the defence-focused technology company.

Mr. Connolly says the companies have been discussing future projects and expect to finalize any additional contracts in January.