RUAG integrates pilot assistance and safety solution on EC635 for NATO DVE flight trials – Vertical Magazine (press release)

RUAG Aviation integrated a pilot assistance and helicopter safety solution on the Airbus Helicopters EC635, on behalf of the Swiss Air Force, for use in recent North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)-sponsored trials. The goal of the international trials cited technology-testing for enhancing safety during helicopter operations in limited visibility environments.

Held at lggialp, Switzerland, the NATO trials focused on degraded visual environments (DVE) caused specifically by snow or whiteout conditions. The Swiss DVE whiteout trials operated out of the Swiss Air Force helicopter base in Alpnach, Switzerland, where RUAG Aviation also maintains an independent Center of Excellence for helicopter maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO).

The DVE trials ran from Feb. 20 to 23, 2017.

The NATO DVE trials were held in the interest of technology and knowledge sharing, across international borders, on solutions specifically designed to improve safety and mitigate risk for both pilots and helicopters. RUAG Aviation became a key player in the NATO whiteout trials, integrating the pilot assistance and helicopter safety system in use during the event into the EC635 platform belonging to the Swiss Air Force. This helicopter acts as a capability demonstrator and will be used for further live tests.

The Sferion based solution initially developed by Airbus DS Electronics & Border Security GmbH is specifically configured to be integrated into any helicopter platform.

Amid prototypes and various research projects, this integration showcased the vast and thorough helicopter systems and engineering expertise amassed by RUAG Aviation from our continuing work on behalf of the Swiss and German Air Forces, as well as for helicopter emergency services (HEMS) and civil operators, said Claudio Zeiter, team leader commercial helicopter services, RUAG Aviation. We are pleased to have been able to make such a significant contribution to these DVE whiteout trials and allow the international community to experience precisely how systems and technologies can interact to provide improved visualization and enhanced safety for both pilot and machine during DVE conditions.

DVE is widely-recognized as a significant issue, concerning the entire helicopter community, public and private. It is one of the pressing issues which RUAG Aviation addresses in its function as an independent aircraft services provider and systems integrator for military and civil operators worldwide.

Civil operators can rely on outstanding engineering support, benefiting from the companys European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification as an approved Part 21J Design Organization (DOA) and decades of system integrations expertise for business jet, business and HEMS helicopter, as well as military aircraft platforms.

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RUAG integrates pilot assistance and safety solution on EC635 for NATO DVE flight trials - Vertical Magazine (press release)