The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (MOD) needed an electronic solution for monitoring the health and performance of its Future Lynx helicopters by AgustaWestland, with offices in Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

MOD personnel turned to Smiths Aerospace of Grand Rapids, Mich., contracting the company to develop and supply its health and usage monitoring system (HUMS) technology for use in the new helicopters.

The $21 million contract calls for the installation of the Smiths Aerospace combined health and usage monitoring system and cockpit voice and flight data recorder (HUMS/CVFDR) on 70 Future Lynx aircraft.

The solution will be integrated into 40 Army Battlefield Reconnaissance helicopters (BRH) and 30 Navy Surface Combatant Maritime rotorcraft (SCMR).

The Future Lynx HUMS/CVFDR will be designed to continuously monitor the fleet-wide health and performance of safety-critical components, while providing advance warning of potential equipment failures and collecting routine-maintenance data.

HUMS sensors monitor the health of the engines, transmission, drive-train system, rotor system, and airframe by detecting and diagnosing potential failures, recording usage, automating test procedures, and issuing alerts for maintenance actions.

Development is scheduled to begin before the end of the year at the Smiths facilities in Southampton, England, and Grand Rapids. HUMS production deliveries are scheduled to start in 2011. For more information, visit www.smiths-aerospace.com.