RUAG Aviation integrated
a pilot assistance and helicopter safety solution on the Airbus
Helicopter EC635, on behalf of the Swiss Air Force, for use in
recent NATO-sponsored trials.
The goal of the
international trials cited technology-testing for enhancing safety
during helicopter operations in limited visibility environments.
Held at Älggialp,
Switzerland, the NATO trials focused on Degraded Visual Environments
(DVE) caused specifically by snow, or whiteout conditions. The Swiss
DVE whiteout trials operated out of the Swiss Air Force helicopter
base in Alpnach, Switzerland, where RUAG Aviation also maintains an
independent Center of Excellence for helicopter MRO. The DVE trials
ran from 20 to 23 February 2017.
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Real-time 3D
environment visualisation |
The NATO DVE trials
were held in the interest of technology and knowledge sharing,
across international borders, on solutions specifically designed to
improve safety and mitigate risk for both pilots and helicopters.
RUAG Aviation became a key player in the NATO whiteout trials,
integrating the pilot assistance and helicopter safety system in use
during the event into the EC635 platform belonging to the Swiss Air
Force. This helicopter acts as a capability demonstrator and will be
used for further live tests. The Sferion based solution – initially
developed by Airbus DS Electronics & Border Security GmbH - is
specifically configured to be integrated into any helicopter
platform.
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White-out
test with the Airbus EC635 |
“Amid
prototypes and various research projects, this integration showcased
the vast and thorough helicopter systems and engineering expertise
amassed by RUAG Aviation from our continuing work on behalf of the
Swiss and German Air Forces, as well as for helicopter emergency
services (HEMS) and civil operators,” said
Claudio Zeiter,
Team Leader Commercial Helicopter Services, RUAG Aviation. “We are
pleased to have been able to make such a significant contribution to
these DVE whiteout trials and allow the international community to
experience precisely how systems and technologies can interact to
provide improved visualisation and enhanced safety for both pilot
and machine during DVE conditions,” he added.
DVE is widely
recognised as a significant issue, concerning the entire helicopter
community, public and private. It is one of the pressing issues
which RUAG Aviation addresses in its function as an independent
aircraft services provider and systems integrator for military and
civil operators worldwide. Civil operators can rely on outstanding
engineering support, benefiting from the company’s European Aviation
Safety Agency (EASA) certification as an approved Part 21J Design
Organisation (DOA) and decades of system integrations expertise for
business jet, business and HEMS helicopter, as well as military
aircraft platforms. |