Vertiflite May/June 2021

environments (see Enlightened Landings, Vertiflite , Spring 2010).

AFRL and the then-Army Aeroflightdynamics Directorate (AFDD) at Moffett Field, California, teamed to integrate the imaging lidar with a dynamic navigation database and intuitive symbology. The package gave pilots a clear picture of their landing zone in DVE and flight parameters to a controlled touchdown. The 3D-LZ pilot displays tested in an Army EH-60L used the Brown-Out Symbology System (BOSS) to enhance situational awareness and reduce pilot workload. Current DVES symbology is based on the BOSS and the integrated cueing environment (ICE) work done by AFDD and the AFRL. A dedicated image processor generates symbology and imagery seen by the pilots. Imagery combines pre-loaded terrain and obstacle data, real-time sensor inputs, and different types of two- and three- dimensional symbology. The high-performance multi-sensor, multi-resolution processing engine also provides high-quality imagery for en route obstacle awareness and landing zone assessment. In the event the aircraft strays too close to terrain, the proximity alert gives three distinct auditory warnings to the aircrew through an alert generator unit tied to the aircraft intercom system. The Army awarded SNC its first DVEPS contract back in 2013, and the lidar maker was competitively selected for production in 2015 after a successful flight test at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona. A follow-on production contract was awarded in 2020 for the MH-60M, but the Army adopted DVEPS for only specially trained special operations aviators. The broader Degraded Visual Environment Mitigation (DVE-M) initiative now pursues integrated sensors, pilot cueing and refined flight control laws. Based on the Army DVEPS, the Air Force system requires no change to Pave Hawk flight control hardware or laws and is not associated with the improved altitude heading hold system in HH-60Gs. The Air Force awarded the DVES procurement, installation and integration contract to SNC in May 2019, and the company and subcontractor Leonardo DRS will complete prototype and verification installations to support the non- recurring engineering and test effort. The DVES lidar turret will be installed on the nose of the Pave Hawk beside the Raytheon FLIR and Honeywell weather radar. Image processing electronics will reside in the aft transition bay ahead of the tail boom. Installed weight of the system is about 170 lb (77 kg). Components have already been tested by the 580th Software Engineering Squadron at Robins AFB and the 47th Cyber Test Squadron at Eglin AFB, Florida. Developmental and operational testing will be performed by a combined test force at Nellis AFB, Nevada.

An HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter takes off from a dusty LZ during an exercise at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. The service is fielding the DVES to enhance situational awareness and safety in brownout or whiteout. (US Air Force)

Artist’s rendering shows the Areté DVES lidar installed beside standard Pave Hawk FLIR and weather radar. (Sierra Nevada Corp.)

May / June 2021

The 3D-LZ technology demonstration gave test crews vertical and horizontal situation displays with symbology superimposed on sensor imagery. (US Army)

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