At least two overseas air forces are interested in the new upgrade, which is intended to allow these aircraft to remain operationally credible in the 21st century, by giving them beyond-visual range (BVR) air combat capability.

Until now, these fighters have been able to employ only short-range weapons - guns, infrared (IR)-homing air to air missiles (AAMs).

The only radar-guided AAMs they could use were also, by today's standards, short-ranged and, anyway, have long been totally obsolete.

The idea is to permit countries to achieve a modern interception and attack capability for a fraction of the price of buying new fighters.

ATE has designed a new Avionics and Weapons System (AWS) for these aircraft, which would equip them with a modern avionics, including fire control radar, allowing them to use radar-guided and/or IR-homing BVR AAMs, as well as modern IR-homing short-range AAMs.

In particular, the new AWS is compatible with European missile giant MBDA's Mica BVR AAM, which was originally developed in France and which comes in both radar-guided and IR-homing versions.

ATE has also designed the AWS to be able to use key systems, such as radars, from alternative suppliers.

The brain of the AWS is ATE's own Mission and Weapons Computer (MWC), while the backbone is provided by two MIL-STD (this is North Atlantic Treaty Organisation - Nato - terminology) data buses, namely a MIL-STD 1553 data bus for the stores management system (known as the weapons bus) and a MIL-STD 1553B data bus, which acts as the mission bus.

ATE designs and manufactures the mission computers that are the brains and backbones of the systems the company integrates. ATE produces both the computer hardware and the software.

The radar, the head-up display, and the multifunction display can come from either Galileo Avionica of Italy, or Thales of France.

The electronic warfare equipment, including the radar warning receiver, will come from Saab Avitronics of South Africa.

This new ATE upgrade will equip these fighters with modern, dual-function (air-to-air, air-to-ground) radars, modern man/machine interfaces (including hands-on-throttle-and-stick controls, head-up displays, multi-function displays, and up-front control panels) and modern navigation systems (including ring laser gyro inertial reference system hybridised with a Nato-standard global positioning system).

Upgrading older fighters is not ATE's only area of business.

It integrates mission systems in three areas - in addition to putting new mission systems on old platforms, it also puts new mission systems on new platforms, and it is also the original equipment manufacturer of complete mission systems, such as the Vulture unmanned air vehicle (UAV).

ATE's experience with avionics and associated software dates back to 1992, when the company was involved in Project Neckwar, a "glass cockpit" avionics demonstration project involving the South African aeronautical industry and using a Mirage F1 fighter as the platform. (A glass cockpit, now the modern standard, uses digital video screens to display information to the pilot, and not analogue mechanically operated dials.) In 1994, the company was selected to develop the glass cockpit avionics system for the SAAF's then new Pilatus PC-7 Mk II Astra trainers. As a result of this experience, ATE was able to partner with Thomson-CSF, now Thales, and be selected by Spain to upgrade the navigation and weapons systems for that country's Mirage F1s.

The company thereafter undertook a weapons and avionics systems upgrade on Russian Mil Mi-24 attack helicopters, for a North African country.

Most recently, ATE developed the navigation and weapons system for the SAAF's new BAE Systems Hawk Mk 120 lead-in fighter-trainers. The mission computers for the SAAF Hawks each contain one million lines of ATE-written, BAE Systems-certified, software.

ATE also upgrades armoured vehicles and the company is divided into four business units - fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, UAVs, and land vehicles.