Boeing has selected a Meggitt cargo and cabin smoke detection system for the KC-46 refuelling tanker. The system features advanced optical measurement features and digital signal processing to eliminate the false alarms that disrupt airline schedules, incurring significant cost to airline operators and impairing the readiness of military aircraft.

Meggitt’s fire protection and control facility based in Simi Valley, California, will supply the system with the state-the-art micro-particle discrimination feature. Model 604 discriminates between smoke and non-smoke sources of airborne particles—humidity, dust and airborne particulate contamination—based on their optical signature.