Rockwell Collins selected for DARPA programme
Rockwell Collins has announced that it has been selected by the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop the synthetic vision avionics backbone for next generation helicopter operations under the Multi-Function Radio Frequency (MFRF) programme. The company announced the news 6 June, 2012.
Rockwell Collins is teamed with BAE Systems on the first two phases of the $5.1 million contract. An optional third phase would bring the contract value to $6 million.
Under the contract, Rockwell Collins will develop a 3D synthetic vision-based imagery system that will be used with multifunction radar. Rockwell Collins will fuse radar data with terrain and obstacle data to produce an integrated 3D view of the operational environment.
The company said that in conjunction with the army, it has ‘flight tested the technology on a Black Hawk helicopter and [is] looking forward to working with DARPA to further develop this capability’.
The US Army Black Hawk synthetic vision flight tests were conducted in conjunction with a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between Rockwell Collins and the US Army’s Aviation Applied Technology Directorate, the company said. The agreement calls for Rockwell Collins to provide its CAAS cockpit as a test bed, enabling the army to 'quickly develop and demonstrate new technology for the warfighter in a cost-effective manner'.
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