SENSOR SOLUTIONS

SENSING A prevalent trend is emerging in the

commercial rotary sector towards the
adoption of more sophisticated radar and

CHANGE
sensor technology, but how are major
manufacturers of imaging payloads
responding? By Beth Stevenson

A Wescam MX-15i multi-sensor,

multispectral imaging system
on board a Slovenian Police
H145 helicopter.
(Photo: Airborne Technologies)

T
he integration of sensors onto on helicopters, and must be balanced Electronic signatures
rotorcraft serves a variety of roles with a widespread industry requirement for Typically, weather radar for commercial
according to the capabilities offered by increased levels of performance, including rotorcraft are mechanical, low-cost and easily
each technology, from weather radar to aiding more sensitivity, longer detection ranges certified. However, there may be an emerging
pilot visibility and crew safety to surveillance and the ability to operate in challenging trend to adapt active electronically scanned
cameras for search and track applications. environmental conditions. array (AESA) radar for certain parapublic
More dependence is now placed on Sensor technology for commercial applications – technology that has previously
digitisation, but bespoke helicopter sensor rotorcraft tends to roll over from the been exclusive to the military domain,
suites that fulfil these functions are costly military sphere, where government primarily in support of fighter fire control.
and may carry integration challenges. investment has gone towards addressing Although not currently commonplace
Instead, payload developers are offering common operational considerations due to its cost and sophistication, AESA
alternative solutions that they claim are during the development of payloads. radar has a number of attributes that are
suitable for incorporation on numerous Commercial applications that require beginning to appeal to the civil market. It
types of rotary-wing aircraft. sophisticated sensor suites include SAR, can switch between modes and carry out
However, the SWaP characteristics of the law enforcement and border security, multiple tasks simultaneously, for example,
sensors may be a development limitation, as all of which also benefit from the including terrain clearance, collecting
these constraints are particularly sensitive ruggedisation of military systems. weather information and performing

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search functions. ‘As soon as you move of the advantages of an AESA radar over a provide situational awareness in advance,
away from [looking at a] single task, AESA more traditional m-scan, or even over a while also carrying out maritime search or
will slowly start to come in, I think,’ said gimballed AESA,’ Nolan told Shephard. weather checks.
Brendan Nolan, VP of sales for radar and ‘It’s interesting, because it’s not a military The first SAR-configured AW101 has
advanced targeting at Leonardo. task… in this case, we’re using the benefits been delivered under the agreement, and
Unlike mechanically scanned (m-scan) and flexibility of an AESA in a parapublic the second is scheduled for delivery in early
radar, AESA is electronically controlled, so task,’ he continued. ‘[Operators] like coast 2018, with five more examples expected to
there are no moving parts, which reduces guards to SAR agencies I think will move to be handed over throughout the year. Five
the mean time between failure of the sensor. AESA very quickly, because they’ve got a more will follow in 2019, and the remainder
While it may be more expensive to initially difficult job. The operational benefits of the in 2020. Once three have been received,
acquire, the through-life cost of supporting radar are that it can do lots of different tasks the fleet will begin operations.
AESA is expected to be reduced overall. at the same time.’ ‘The Norwegian Ministry of Justice is very
‘I think it is rare, but it is becoming less Osprey can be distributed over four happy with the radar, and the Helicopter
rare [for commercial operators to use different apertures across the aircraft to Division has done a good job of integrating
AESA],’ Nolan added. ‘We’re certainly achieve an extensive FOV, which is typically the radar into the systems on the aircraft,
starting to see that the awareness in the provided by a belly-mounted sensor. ‘There which is key for us,’ Nolan confirmed. ‘This
market is starting to rise, and people are has always been an issue with fitting radars is how the data we are able to generate
starting to enquire, so this is absolutely the to get a 360° coverage. Underneath is fine, with the radar is displayed to the crew, and
way forward. There is no doubt that in a except [with] a helicopter that [must] be able what makes it work or not.’
period of time – be it ten or 20 years – to land anywhere,’ Nolan said.
nobody will be making m-scan radars.’ ‘The radar is a very expensive, high-tech Pivotal performance
In December 2013, the Norwegian piece of equipment, and even behind a EO/IR sensors are also widely used for
Ministry of Justice contracted Leonardo radome there is always a danger you’ll lots of different military applications, but
Helicopters to provide 16 AW101s to replace damage it when landing anywhere other have become relied upon for government
its Sea King rotorcraft under the All-Weather than on a ship or on a runway, and of and parapublic rotorcraft for use in SAR
SAR Helicopter (NAWSARH) programme. course, that is not what happens in a and law enforcement roles and by
The aircraft feature the company’s newest search and rescue operation – you might intelligence agencies.
Osprey distributed-antenna AESA radar. be landing anywhere.’ Onboard imaging systems can be installed
Despite being operated by the air force, Given that Norway is prone to snow, standalone or as part of a larger, integrated
the AW101s will be used in a non-military landing on an unprepared runway could put sensor suite, depending on the requirements
role, so are a good example of this type of a belly-mounted sensor at risk of damage and budgets of the operator. Many offerings
technology being introduced into the by hitting undetected obstacles such as are provided as gimballed sensors that fit to
commercial sector. rocks that are hidden from view. the underneath of the helicopter, and the
‘That’s been a good programme, and that The country has also contracted a short- SWaP implications of carrying them are
non-military user is absolutely ideal for range awareness mode, whereby terrain constantly being evaluated.
Osprey, because they are able to exploit all clearance can be provided at a distance to FLIR Systems is a supplier of both military
and commercial EO/IR payloads.
‘Most customers tend to have
The onscreen display of the Star legacy mission systems or existing
Safire 380-HDc in action. The OEM equipment that we need to
stabilised HD imaging system is integrate our EO/IR sensors with,’
designed to maximise ground said Adam DeAngelis, director of
clearance on rotary-wing aircraft. marketing for FLIR’s Surveillance
(Photo: FLIR Systems) Group. ‘For those customers that
do not have legacy systems or
OEM equipment, we are able to
offer our Merlin mission system.’
The Star Safire 380-HDc is one
of the manufacturer’s key
offerings for commercial
rotorcraft, although it has a larger
15in (380mm) form factor than
competing systems. ‘While there
are 10in systems available on the
market, it is impossible to fit in the
optical capability, and customers

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are prioritising the need for longer stand-off

ranges,’ DeAngelis explained.
‘Our systems are very power-efficient,
Technology usually reserved for the military
therefore the demand for size and weight domain is beginning to roll into markets
tends to outweigh any power issues. We like
to say “performance” instead of “power”, with less available budget, but ones that often
since it tends to have much more relevancy
in today’s mission requirements.’ have just as demanding requirements.
He noted that while the company has a
strong traditional customer base, it is also
seeing increasing demand in emerging
markets, and there are a number of Wescam payload, options also include near video recorders, microwave downlink and
developments under way that it is planning IR and shortwave IR (SWIR), plus lasers other related equipment,’ explained Paul
on unveiling in this sector later in 2018. for rangefinding, marking and targeting, Jennison, senior VP of strategy and
Similarly, L3 Wescam has also reported alongside an inertial navigation system. business development at Wescam.
receiving interest from government markets, The company is seeing increasing Products in the ubiquitous MX series
both domestically and internationally, demand for a complete operator’s console share common features such as imager
including intelligence, customs and border package, as opposed to just the sensor. types and HD resolution, but vary in
patrol and law enforcement agencies, ‘In addition to monitors and a hand optics, with the larger turrets having larger
claiming that purely commercial markets do controller, the console would include apertures and longer focal lengths, which
not require the level of sophistication that its a moving map system that provides magnifies the target that is being tracked.
MX series of EO/IR gimbals offers. the customer with a state-of-the-art This equates to longer target detection,
In addition to the standard visible and touchscreen operator interface with recognition and identification (DRI) distances
thermal (midwave IR) cameras found in a advanced sensor management functions, for superior operational performance.

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 SENSOR SOLUTIONS

Further emphasising The Euroflir 410 features standard

the strong correlation interfaces, enabling it to be
integrated with other mission
between SWaP and systems. (Photo: Safran)
performance, Jennison
said: ‘So, sensor choice
comes down to a trade-off
between the mission
DRI requirements and the a complex situation, where the
payload SWaP constraints lives or security of people –
of the platform.’ on the ground or on board –
are at stake,’ a company
Likely prospects representative stated.
While other manufacturers As with competing systems,
take the view that one Euroflir can be used within
system type can serve a a wider, full sensor suite
number of applications, L3 or as a standalone product,
is instead finding that each depending on customers’
product has its own niche mission and aircraft
market. ‘Wescam has configuration requirements.
found that the MX-10 is Furthermore, Safran offers
a good fit for light to its EO/IR payloads directly
medium-lift rotorcraft with to the aircraft manufacturer
nominal mission altitudes or integrator or as part of
around 5,000ft, and the a complete ISR system for
MX-15 is a good fit for an operator’s rotorcraft
medium- to heavy-lift modernisation efforts alongside
rotorcraft with nominal mission C2 systems (which include a mission
altitudes around 15,000ft,’ system, console and ground data links).
Jennison said. Reiterating the industry-wide stress on
‘We expect that the introduction of a utilising new processing architecture, which the importance of SWaP, the spokesperson
new product, such as the MX-8, will open offer improvements in internal computing. said: ‘In airborne applications, SWaP and
up a new market segment to us in terms The maturation of processing technology performance are of equal importance, as
of platform and mission addressability,’ means that L3 can provide advanced video the life of the crew is often at stake and
he added. ‘Specifically, that product is tracking and embedded moving target light [weight] is crucial. Safran, capitalising
appropriate for the very light helicopter indication, according to the company. on all its experience in various optronics
market, which may otherwise not employ In addition to leveraging developments including handheld goggles, can combine
a sensor.’ in software to increase its presence in high performance and light SWaP.’
As imaging technology continues to the commercial sector, the manufacturer There are clearly commonalities across
advance, L3 expects to introduce new has its eye on future regional growth. the marketplace in terms of SWaP
features into its products. ‘For example, ‘We forecast that the next high-growth challenges and the requirement for
Wescam has taken advantage of a new region will be Southeast Asia, which increased performance, recognised by
generation of compact HD midwave is not surprising given the ongoing multiple manufacturers to be particularly
IR detectors to bring that capability to geopolitical tensions in that part of the salient for commercial and parapublic
our small MX-10 family of sensors,’ world,’ Jennison told Shephard, although users requiring EO/IR and radar systems.
Jennison said. he did concede that opportunities are However, while some companies are
‘We have leveraged state-of-the-art not anticipated to be quite so forthcoming offering common systems to the whole
high sensitivity and high dynamic-range elsewhere. ‘The Middle East has been a marketplace, others are seeing appeal
colour CMOS detectors to bring an strong market for the past seven years, for specific products for different types
unprecedented level of colour and we expect that to continue but without of helicopter.
performance under challenging the same levels of high growth,’ he said. The introduction of AESA radar is likely
illumination conditions,’ he continued. France-based manufacturer Safran is to disrupt the commercial rotary sector, as
Full HD is being added to low-light also looking to the SAR and civil security technology usually reserved for the military
sensors through CMOS technology, while markets for its Euroflir family of sensors. domain begins to roll into markets with less
SWIR is being introduced to enable the ‘Our EO/IR systems are designed to fit any available budget, but ones that often have
sensor to perform in harsh weather rotorcraft application requiring performant just as demanding requirements, such as
conditions. The newest MX sensors are also systems to [provide] suitable information in for SAR missions. ▪
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