Airbus Helicopters recently completed the first round of firing test with HForce, a generic weapon system being developed for the company’s commercial helicopter range, Airbus said Monday.
The HForce system includes a central core unit, Thales’ Scorpion monocular helmet mounted sight display (HMSD), an electro-optical system (EOS) from Wescam, and gunner armament weapon grips and weapon pods. The system has been undergoing testing for the previous five months.
The HForce system begun development in 2014. The company describes it as “an incremental, affordable, plug n’ play weapon management system that can be fitted onto any military version of Airbus Helicopters commercial range (H125M, H145M, H225M).”
HForce is also designed to meet the requirements of defense agencies pursuing light attack mission capabilities of a complement to existing fleets of specialized attack helicopters, Airbus said.
The firing campaign took place from May 25 to June 3, using HForce-equipped H225M on a dedicated range in Belgium. The test allowed the company to demonstrate the performance of HForce with ballistic weapons, including 12.7mm guns, 70mm rockets, and 20mm cannons, Airbus said.
“This important milestone, achieved on time, demonstrates that HForce achieves excellent results above specifications, and that it provides a real added value in terms of target tracking and acquisition for day or night missions, thanks to the EOS and HMSD,” Jean-Luc André, HForce program manager at Airbus, said in a statement.
The successful round of testing puts HForce development on track for qualification by the end of 2017.