PHOENIX, 12 June 2015. Honeywell Aerospace (NYSE:HON) is delivering its LASEREF VI Inertial Navigation System as for future and in-service Finmeccanica-AgustaWestland AW101 tactical transport helicopters. The inertial navigation upgrade helps helicopter pilots navigate with extreme accuracy, even with the loss of GPS satellite guidance, and brings new capabilities to the platform including greater efficiency.
The new upgrade will be available to operators starting in 2016. The availability of the LASEREF VI Inertial Navigation System (INS) on the AW101 marks the first time that a Honeywell civilinertial reference systemhas been certified on an AgustaWestland platform.
“The advanced technology behind the LASEREF VI will bring a wealth of new functionality for AW101 helicopters,” says Steve Lien, vice president, Defense and Space International, Honeywell Aerospace. “Operators who select the platform will benefit fromprecise flying approaches not previously possible, and pilots will be able to achieve accurate positioning data and maximize safety during operations.”
Honeywell’s LASEREF VI will help AW101 operators improve mission capability and flexibility of their fleet, reduce their pilot workload, and ensure that safety is maintained at all times, officials say.
AW101 operators flying Honeywell’s LASEREFVI INS can take advantage of new capabilities including a Required Navigation Performance (RNP) of 0.3 nautical miles with 100 percent availability. With this level of precision, operators can fly approaches not previously possible, including when GPS is temporarily interrupted. It also lays the foundation for them to obtain helicopter operational approval for RNP low-level operations.
Designed to withstand the hot and dusty conditions of rotorcraft operation, the LASEREF VI offers acombined GPS/INSmode and an inertial-only mode. Ituses ring laser gyro technology to provide pilots with incredibly accurate positioning data and maximized safetyeven during extended periods of operation.
The LASEREF VIis small, light and designed to operate with low power draw for improved efficiency. It features Honeywell’s HIGH Step2 inertial-GPS hybrid functionality for improved RNP availability, and has an FAA Technical Standard Order that certifies it to the highest possible civilian standards. The LASEREF VI is one of a wide range of inertial navigation technologies Honeywell supplies for military and civil fixed wing and rotorcraft, as well as space applications, with more than 100,000 systems fielded to date.
