Rockwell Collins developing visual system for chopper pilots

The U.S. Army awarded Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids the first of three phases in a program to develop a system that will give helicopter pilots the ability to see through visual obstructions like dust, fog and snow when taking off and landing.

The goal of the program is to develop and qualify a solution for the U.S. Army special operations aviation regiment helicopters that can be installed and in use by 2018.

Troy Brunk, vice president and general manager of airborne solutions for Rockwell Collins, said the Degraded Visual Environment Pilotage System will give pilots enhanced capabilities, "resulting in safer operations and increased probability of mission success and aircraft survivability."

Brunk said Rockwell Collins continues to build on its relationship with Special Operations Aviation that has developed over the last 20 years “by working with them to develop a situational awareness solution their pilots can trust.”

The Degraded Visual Environment Pilotage System is fully compatible with the existing common avionics architecture system featured on the U.S. Army's MH-47G and MH-60M helicopters, as well as many other tactical helicopter avionics systems.

The system also will help improve visual cues enabling pilots to maintain correct attitude and speeds during landing in degraded visual environments.

"Our approach is to offer a scalable system that will allow affordable reuse by other Department of Defense rotorcraft operators," Brunk said.