REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala., 23 Aug. 2013. The leading helicopter in the U.S. President’s rotary-wing fleet, a Sikorsky VH-60N White Hawk, will be updated to support the Common Avionics Architecture System (CAAS) under the U.S. Navy's Cockpit Upgrade Program.
Navy officials called upon members of the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) Software Engineering Directorate (SED) to upgrade the mission-planning capabilities of the White Hawk helicopter.
The Aviation Mission Planning System team at AMRDEC's Software Engineering Directorate has experience developing mission-planning software for CAAS cockpits, including the Marine Corps heavy-lift helicopter CH-53E Super Stallion, the ARH-70A next-generation armed reconnaissance helicopter, and the CH-47F Chinook, which resembles the VH-60N in avionics and data load specification.
SED engineers will develop VH-60N mission-planning software, reveals Mark Hundschied, project lead for SED's Presidential Helicopter mission planning.
The Aviation Mission Planning System team produces AMPS, its namesake hardware and software package, for Army aviation. It also customizes AMPS for various Foreign Military Sales customers, and produces other solutions, from components to systems, for mission-planning workflows across the U.S. military.
"Our previous success with Rockwell Collins enabled us to secure this effort," Hundscheid explains. "Our development team enjoys an excellent relationship with the project office, communicating frequently and candidly to deliver high-quality products."
AMRDEC is part of the U.S. Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command (ARDEC), which is responsible for the development of technology and engineering solutions for America's soldiers.
RDECOM is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Materiel Command. AMC is the Army's premier provider of materiel readiness--technology, acquisition support, materiel development, logistics power projection, and sustainment--to the total force, across the spectrum of joint military operations.
The VH-60N White Hawk, assigned to Marine Helicopter Squadron One, is a twin-engine, all-weather helicopter that supports the executive transport mission for the President of the United States.
