Visual Alerts Given Via Display, Or In Flight Helmet Visor

EADS Defense and Security announced Monday it successfully tested the military version of the HELLAS (helicopter laser radar) obstacle warning system in flight. The equipment known as the Military Obstacle Warning System (MilOWS) is being developed for deployment on the NH90 helicopter.

The EADS Defense Electronics business unit has carried out the first flight tests with MilOWS on board the HELLAS demonstration helicopter for certification and as the basis for the approval of different helicopter types following the successful development phase. During these tests, the functionality of the equipment and the performance of the sensor were verified under flight conditions as required by the customer. Various obstacle scenarios were flown, including low level flights and spiraling at a roll angle of up to 45 degrees.

MilOWS detected the obstacles as expected. The data recorded during the flight tests serve to verify and optimize the algorithms for recognizing and classifying obstacles in accordance with military requirement profiles. Further flight tests with this demonstration system are planned for October and November 2007 in even more complex obstacle scenarios, such as military flight profiles, according to the company.

"The further development of this military version takes into account the customer's requirements for a helicopter flying under military marginal conditions and is based on a further development of the technology used in the civilian HELLAS version, which has already been successfully introduced and deployed for several years now by customers including the German federal police and border guard. We expect this version of the product to be successfully marketed throughout the world and have concrete orders in our order books," explained Bernd Wenzler, Head of the Defense Electronics Business Unit.

During the completed development phase, MilOWS equipment was tested for several months in the NH90 integration rig at Eurocopter in Ottobrunn, Germany. All the interface functionalities of the NH90 system were demonstrated and involved both pilots and customers. The current version of the MilOWS worked "perfectly."

Likewise, the preliminary work for the mechanical integration of the obstacle warning system into the NH90 helicopter was carried out successfully, according to EADS.

HELLAS was developed at EADS Defense Electronics for deployment in helicopters. HELLAS is a laser-based, electro-optical system, which detects such obstacles as power lines reliably even if the pilot has difficulties making them out during the flight.

The system scans the area in front of the helicopter with a laser beam, which is not harmful to the human eye, and detects with high precision even thin wire and metal cables at distances of more than a mile. With the military version of HELLAS (MilOWS) potential obstacles are classified into different categories, such as power lines, masts or single, isolated objects and superimposed on a video or FLIR image as obstacle symbols.

The pilot sees this information on a display or in the visor of his flight helmet. In addition, acoustic warning signals to alert the pilot to a potential obstacle. As a result, the crew is able to detect obstacles early allowing them to safely circumnavigate.

FMI: www.eads.com