Technology developed as part of Northrop Grumman’s Rotorcraft Avionics Innovation Laboratory (RAIL) took flight for the first time aboard the US Navy’s T-Rex UH-1N test bed aircraft to demonstrate improved aircraft survivability, increased situational awareness and digital interoperability.

Utilising an Internet protocol (IP)-based, mesh-enabled, beyond-line-of-sight network, the aircraft transmitted and received sensor metadata and imagery from the battlefield to provide a common operational picture showcasing network-centric multi-platform collaboration.

“Several field-ready upgrade capabilities were integrated into existing systems to produce solutions our warfighters need, including threat geolocation, sensor cross-cueing, transmission of video and threat data, and scenestitched imagery to provide situational awareness around the platform,” said Hao Tran, Director of Advanced Concepts and Technologies for Northrop Grumman’s Advanced Concepts and Technologies Division. “In addition, we successfully introduced Northrop Grumman’s multifunction advanced threat warner onboard a helicopter providing a four-in-one capability in a single sensor, including missile warning, laser warning, hostile fire detection and sensor video.”