BAE SYSTEMS BEGINS DELIVERY OF SENSOR SYSTEMS FOR U.S. NAVY HELICOPTERS

Following successful flight testing, the U. S. Navy has authorised BAE Systems for full production of Replacement Attitude Heading Reference System (R-AHRS) units that will be retrofitted to CH-53 and MH-53 helicopters.

This decision paves the way for the shipment of up to 200 units to the Navy by the end of this year under an $8.4 million contract. R-AHRS units provide helicopter pilots with vital information on attitude and heading angles during operation in instrument flight conditions, especially at night or during poor-visibility conditions. The system also provides the autopilot with essential signals required for helicopter stabilisation and control.

"These newly redesigned units offer significantly improved output accuracy and system reliability through use of state-of-the-art inertial sensors and processing algorithms,� said Tom Herring, vice president of Integrated Solutions for BAE Systems Platform Solutions. "The design also improves safety and maintainability by providing extensive built-in test coverage for timely identification of potential malfunctions.�

Each R-AHRS unit consists of a strap-down inertial measurement unit, a processor, and an external magnetometer. The system incorporates BAE Systems' unique AHRS algorithms, whose functions include automatic in-air magnetometer calibration.