SPARKS, Nev., October 05, 2016 – Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) recently displayed advancements in its Degraded Visual Environment (DVE) technology during successful demonstrations at the DVE Mitigation (DVE-M) Program’s NATO Yuma Flight Trials in Yuma, Arizona. The DVE-M program is a multi-year U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command science and technology effort to execute ground and flight tests with various sensor, flight control and cueing technology combinations, providing pilots with visual awareness in DVE environments such as brownout conditions.
“We are excited about the improved performance of our technology and are fully committed to providing the most advanced, state‐of‐the‐art DVE system to our country’s military.” said Greg Cox, corporate vice president for SNC’s Communication, Navigation and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management business area. “Our DVE systems leverage more than a decade of experience and investment to provide the most mature, comprehensive technology available for mitigating the negative effects of DVE.”
Improving Pilot Safety
SNC’s effort in the program is focused on the development and advancement of real-time fusion of multi-sensor data from millimeter wave radar, light detection and ranging (LIDAR), IR cameras and various a priori digital terrain data. Over the course of the week leading up to the VIP Day demonstration, SNC’s DVE technology enabled test pilots to conduct more than 86 safe approaches to hover and landing in dust and heavy brownout conditions. In February 2017, SNC’s DVE technology will be demonstrated again at the European NATO DVE Flight Trials, focusing on additional DVE such as fog, rain, snow and whiteout conditions.
SNC’s commitment to the development of DVE technology is proven by more than a decade of experience developing and maturing DVE systems, having flown numerous test flights with multiple configurations on operational Department of Defense (DoD) aircraft. Applicable to both rotary-wing and fixed-wing aircraft, SNC’s DVE solutions provide increased flight safety and operational capability for all modes of flight in natural and aircraft induced DVE by restoring pilot situational awareness through real‐time, multi‐sensor fused imagery. In addition to the DVE-M program, SNC is currently under contract with another DoD customer for a production system and will begin Developmental Flight Testing and Low-Rate Initial Production in 2017, followed by Qualification and Operational Testing in 2018.
AMRDEC
AMRDEC has the mission to develop technology and engineering solutions for America's Soldiers. AMRDEC employs nearly 10,000 civilian scientists, researchers, and engineers.
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About SNC
SNC is a trusted global leader in aerospace and national security. Our innovative solutions enable connected protection through command, control and communications systems, as well as ISR, cyber, electromagnetic spectrum management, and other high capabilities for national security systems across all domains – sea, land, air, space and cyber. As a longstanding leader in defense technology, SNC is at the optimum intersection of commercial, defense and non-traditional contractors. We are one of the only privately owned mid-tier A&D contractors and we pride ourselves on our ability to invest early and often to ensure mission success on or ahead of schedule. It's part of our mission to always stay one step ahead; working on solutions today to solve the problems of tomorrow. Founded in 1963, SNC is owned by Chairwoman Eren Ozmen and CEO Fatih Ozmen.