U.S. Army selects Honeywell radar altimeter to improve situational awareness, helicopter fleet safety

PHOENIX, 30 Sept. 2015. Honeywell Aerospace (NYSE:HON) will continue to supply its combat-proven radar altimeters to the U.S. Army for use across the full fleet of Army helicopters under a $41 million. Honeywell is providing the company’s lightweight, compact APN-209 radar altimeter, a critical piece of safety and situational awareness equipment designed to work well in a helicopter’s operating environment, specifically in the hover phase and low-level flight, officials say.

The APN-209 provides the pilot and flight control computer with an indication of height above the nearest terrain point below the aircraft, such as a tower or building. This information ensures that the pilot and crew have the most accurate information about the landscape around their helicopter, company officials say.

Honeywell’s radar altimeter offers size, hover capability, and Low Probability of Detection (LPD), Low Probability of Intercept (LPI), and Low Probability of Exploitation (LPE), which are well suited for smaller platforms. It is optimized to work well in the helicopter environment which includes reliable tracking of the ground in a prolonged hover maneuver. At 62 cubic inches and 3.0 pounds, it is one of the smallest and lightest altimeters in the market. It can be integrated with an altitude indicator and mounted in the helicopter cockpit. Together, these features help Army helicopters evade attempts to obtain the location of the platform through the altimeter, increasing the likelihood of remaining undetected during surveillance or tactical missions.

“Honeywell has delivered more than 150,000 radar altimeters to defense and commercial customers around the world,” explains Carey Smith, president, defense and space, Honeywell Aerospace. “Since 1975, Honeywell’s radar altimeters have helped keep Army helicopters safe in multiple theaters of combat, and dramatically increased performance across missions and in all types of weather and conditions.”

Honeywell Aerospace products and services are found on virtually every commercial, defense, and space aircraft, and its turbochargers are used by nearly every automaker and truck manufacturer around the world. The Aerospace business unit develops innovative solutions for more fuel-efficient automobiles and airplanes, more direct and on-time flights, safer flying and runway traffic, along with aircraft engines, cockpit and cabin electronics, wireless connectivity services, logistics, and more.