In the 1940s, ATC centres could and did take advantage of the newly developed radar and improved radio communication brought about by the Second World War, but the system remained rudimentary.

But delays and inefficiencies in air travel are due in large part to an outdated traffic-control system that still relies on slow, ground-based radar stations and repetitive voice communication.

Microwave vacuum electron devices are the key components in Radar, communication, broadcasting, accelerators and the other electron systems.