Military

BAE Tests Landing System

By Tish Drake | December 12, 2007
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BAE Systems completed the first test of an autonomous landing system intended for large mobility and transport aircraft. BAE said the Dec. 6 demonstration of the Autonomous Approach and Landing Capability (AALC) system aboard a C-130H aircraft at Edwards Air Force Base in California illustrated the system’s ability to enhance pilot vision in a simulated zero-visibility landing scenario. “This technology essentially lets aircrews maintain their vision through all weather and obscurants,” said Clark Freise, vice president of defense avionics for BAE Systems in Johnson City, New York. “It promises to save lives by making it much safer for pilots to confidently land, taxi, and take off.” The AALC system fuses millimeter-wave radar and infrared imaging, enabling pilots to see the runway and detect obstacles in a variety of visibility-limiting conditions. BAE Systems is under an $11.4 million contract with the Air Force Research Laboratory for AALC development and flight demonstration.

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