Northrop Grumman [NOC] has partnered with the Navy’s Aviation Center for Rotorcraft Advancement (NACRA) to provide its Digital Avionics Suite technology for retrofitting NACRA’s UH-1N helicopter as an avionics test bed for future rotary wing hardware and software developments.
“Our solution is very open architecture, plug-and-play, where practically anything can be tested,” Gina Piellusch, communications director for Northrop Grumman Electronics Systems, told sister pu lication Defense Daily recently.
With so many helicopters in need of upgrades, and next generation rotorcraft and systems in development, the company’s joint partnership with the Navy stands to benefit all military branches, as well as other defense electronics firms hoping to integrate their products into tomorrow’s aircraft systems.
The Digital Avionics Suite was featured along with other cockpit systems at the Modern Day Marine Expo held last week in Quantico, Va.
It includes two 10.4-inch multi-functional displays, the same as those used by the Marine Corps on the AH-1Z and UH-1Y helicopters. The displays allow analysis of aircrew situational awareness by making critical mission data available to the flight test engineers.
The Digital Avionics Suite is half of the system currently installed on the AH-1Z helicopter, and will allow test integration with minimal changes to the systems avionics or the aircraft.
Northrop Grumman is supplying NACRA with a stand-alone Digital Avionics Suite and integration support for installing the system in the back of a UH-1N helicopter that has been retired from active service by the Navy.
The equipment is ready and everything seems to be on track for a fit check this month, followed by installation and flight-testing soon afterward as the Navy’s schedule allows, Piellusch said. “The Navy will use the helo to develop and test new mission hardware and software under operational conditions.”
Flying and testing avionic upgrades in the back of the aircraft will allow NACRA to immediately evaluate how systems function and appear on displays, while avoiding complications and delays involved with flight-testing non FAA-certified components.
The UH-1N helicopter will include a Northrop Grumman mission computer that allows for easy system upgrades as new technology is developed.
The AH-1Z mission computer will power the glass cockpit and integrate the components of the Digital Avionics Suite. The company will also supply an LN-251 embedded global positioning system/fiber-optic inertial navigation system to provide precise own ship positioning information for the digital system in the back of the helicopter.
Based at Patuxent River, Md., NACRA was mandated by the Pentagon in 2005 and is charged with addressing and improving communication and coordination across the Navy and Marine Corps rotorcraft community. NACRA cross-platform initiatives include a common program road mapping process and cross-platform leveraged efforts addressing condition-based maintenance and operations in degraded visual environments.
“Success will be when we prove out what we say,” Piellusch said. “When people start coming out to test, and we see the results from lots of different providers.”