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AFRL technology will help AMC pilots land anytime, anywhere

  • Published
  • By Laura L. Lundin
  • Air Force Research Laboratory Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AMCNS) --  The Air Force Research Laboratory is demonstrating a suite of technologies that will enable Air Mobility Command aircraft to land in a range of environments -- anytime and anywhere.

The AFRL Air Vehicles, Human Effectiveness and Sensors Directorates here are working collaboratively to demonstrate the Autonomous Approach and Landing Capability, or AALC, in conjunction with BAE Systems Platform Solutions, and the Opportune Landing System in conjunction with Boeing Phantom Works and the U.S. Army’s Cold Regions Research Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, N.H.

When combined, these technologies will help air transportation pilots land in austere weather and field conditions.

In a perfect situation, pilots generally have no trouble seeing the runway, but when low-visibility conditions such as fog, rain, snow and blowing sand occur, pilots may have difficulty making a safe approach and landing without ground-based navigation aids. That’s where AALC, a sensor-based, head-up display system, will come into play, providing pilots with a clear image of the runway to allow a safe landing.

Using baseline technology developed by MBDA U.K. Ltd., a HUD developed by BAE Systems U.K., and image processing and fusion developed by BAE Platform Solutions U.S., the objects picked up by the imaging radar will generate a near real-time video image, which will be enhanced to appear as if the pilot were landing in daytime conditions on a typical visual approach. The video will appear on the HUD screen and allow the pilot to guide the aircraft in for landing.

While AALC will enable pilots to perform missions in severe weather conditions, OLS will help pilots to land in austere locations by providing information on the area’s ability to support a landing operation.

OLS will analyze satellite imagery to determine an area’s suitability for landing operations by looking at length, width and flatness of the area as well as potential obstructions and standing water. Additionally, OLS will be able to determine soil type and moisture content in order to estimate the strength of the area.

“When you add these two programs together, you have the capability to penetrate the weather and battlefield obscurants, so you can go anytime, and OLS will allow landing capabilities anywhere,” said James McDowell, the AALC program manager with AFRL Air Vehicles Directorate.

“Today, pilots can land in severe weather conditions but not without an extensive and well-maintained infrastructure in place,” said Mr. McDowell. For military operations, this necessary infrastructure leads to constraints on the mission by narrowing the landing options, costing the military time and money.

However, the AALC system operates independently of ground-based navigation aids such as the Instrument Landing System, the Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Radio Range and Tactical Air Navigation, while OLS is a pre-mission planning analysis tool that provides information about potential landing sites.

This independence increases operational capabilities by enabling mobility assets to conduct approaches and landings in low-visibility conditions at austere fields without the detailed infrastructure necessary with present operations.

According to Gary Machovina, principle writer of the AALC concept of operations with AMC’s long-range planning section at Scott AFB, Ill., AMC identified a deficiency in mobility operations in Bosnia during 1995 and 1996. He said the missions then and now are limited to those areas that can support landings using ground-based navigation aids.

These constraints led to delays in deploying and supplying troops in the theater of operations. “AALC looks very promising and has the potential of opening up the possibilities for operations significantly,” Mr. Machovina said.

“This technology is a true game-changer,” added Douglas Zimmer, deputy program manager with the AFRL Human Effectiveness Directorate. “With AALC providing the pilot with adequate imagery and the dependence on airport infrastructure gone, mobility assets will be free to operate under a majority of atmospheric conditions related to extreme low-visibility.”

Presently, AALC works by using a 2-D millimeter wave imaging radar system, infrared camera, and fusion and processing algorithms that combine the best qualities of each sensor. The fused sensor image of the runway is then displayed to the pilot in a two dimensional view.

Therefore, if an obstacle, such as a tree, were in the path of an aircraft, it would only appear as a shadow or a spot on the display, not allowing the pilot to determine the height and, consequently, the threat of the object.

To address this limitation, the Sensors Directorate is working on modifying the system to feature a 3-D view. The 3-D radar will display the height of obstacles or terrain in the path of the aircraft, which will make the pilot better aware of the landing situation.

“The three-dimensional radar is primarily designed to address two issues: providing a safe approach by identifying intervening terrain or obstacles on the final approach and providing information about potential hazards or runway incursions,” said Maj. John Koger, program manager with Sensor’s Directorate, Sensor Applications and Demonstrates branch.

Mr. McDowell said AALC is scheduled for flight test demonstration, beginning with the 2-D radar, between October 2006 and February 2007 aboard a Lockheed Martin C-130H at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Plans are for the technology to be transitioned to AMC by fiscal year 2010.

Engineers are scheduled to flight test the completed 3-D modifications in late spring to early summer of 2007. Mr. McDowell said the primary focus will be on the radar’s ability to identify obstacles or terrain at the correct location and height on final approach.

“From what I have seen thus far, the proposed technologies are impressive. The true test will come during our demonstration when the sensors are stressed in actual weather conditions,” Mr. Zimmer said. (Courtesy Air Force Research Laboratory Public Affairs)