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.
About Sierra Nevada Corporation
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) provides customer-focused technology solutions in the areas of aerospace, aviation, electronics and systems integration. SNC has been honored as one of “The World’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Space,” and one of America’s fastest growing companies. SNC’s diverse technologies are used in applications including telemedicine, navigation and guidance systems, threat detection and security, commercial aviation, scientific research and infrastructure protection. Founded in 1963 and headquartered in Sparks, Nevada, SNC operates under the leadership of owners, CEO Fatih Ozmen and President Eren Ozmen, with a workforce of nearly 3,000 personnel in 34 locations in 19 U.S. states, England, Germany and Turkey providing global support to customers.
For more information on SNC visit www.sncorp.com and follow us at Facebook.com/SierraNevCorp and Twitter @SierraNevCorp. Sierra Nevada Corporation and SNC are trademarks of Sierra Nevada Corporation.
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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