Article Posted on : - Sep 30, 2010

UH-1N helicopter

WOODLAND HILLS, CALIFORNIA (BNS): Northrop Grumman has partnered with US Naval Aviation Center for Rotorcraft Advancement (NACRA) to provide its Digital Avionics Suite technology for retrofitting NACRA's UH-1N helicopter.

The company will supply NACRA with a stand-alone Digital Avionics Suite and integration support for installing the system in the back of a UH-1N helicopter that has been retired from active service by the US Navy.

The Digital Avionics Suite aboard the retrofitted UH-1N helicopter will include a mission computer AH-1Z which will power the glass cockpit and integrate the components of the Digital Avionics Suite.

Northrop will also supply an LN-251 embedded global positioning system/fiber-optic inertial navigation system to provide precise own ship positioning information for the digital system in the back of the helicopter.

The Digital Avionics Suite also includes two 10.4" multi-functional displays which allow analysis of aircrew situational awareness by making critical mission data available to the flight test engineers.

Once installation is complete, NACRA will utilize the retrofitted helicopter as an avionics test bed to develop and test new rotorcraft mission hardware and software, Northrop said in a release.