Lockheed Martin [LMT] said it recently conducted a series of test flights demonstrating a new cutting-edge, low-light-level sensor system for Army Arrowheadr-equipped AH-64D Apache helicopters.

Integrated into the Modernized-Pilot Night Vision Sensor (M-PNVS) system, the Visible/Near Infrared (V/NIR) sensor will provide the Warfighter with significant tactical advantages, the company said.

Follow-on qualification and flight tests are scheduled for later this year to complete the development program.

“The Modernized PNVS sensor has given Apache pilots remarkable situational awareness at night and in adverse environmental conditions,” Jack McClafferty, director of the Arrowhead Modernized-Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor (M-TADS/PNVS) program at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, said. “Now, with the blending of the V/NIR sensor imagery and the FLIR imagery, pilots will have an unprecedented view of their surroundings.”

The new sensor system will allow pilots to see different kinds of lighting better, meaning safer flying conditions and improved mission capability by blending V/NIR sensor imagery with M-PNVS forward looking infrared (FLIR) imagery to improve situational awareness in low-light-level conditions.

Also, the sensor will allow aviators to see laser pointers, improving coordination with ground units.

The Army Aviation and Missile Command in Huntsville, Ala., awarded the $9.4 million contract for the V/NIR proof-of-principle phase for the M-TADS/PNVS in 2007 to Lockheed Martin.

Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control will produce the V/NIR lens and serve as the system integrator, while Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems and Sensors in Akron, Ohio, will provide the system’s camera.

The contract includes a new lens design and repackaging of six engineering units that will be used to meet Apache flight environment requirements. Successful completion of this effort will pave the way for follow-on production contracts. The production contracts for this sensor are expected to equip 10 battalions, or 240 ship sets plus spares, for a total of 266, with the first deliveries beginning in 2009.