altitude hold & hover stabilization system - DRS Technologies

Enhanced Flight Safety And Performance In Degraded Visual Environments
Photos courtesy of the U.S. Air Force
ALTITUDE HOLD & HOVER STABILIZATION SYSTEM
The DRS Altitude Hold and Hover Stabilization (AHHS)
System provides a low-cost solution for increased flight
safety and situational awareness during low visibility
conditions.
The AHHS System provides hands-free cyclic and collective
control for cruise, low-altitude hover operations, precision
hover and drift control, automatic descend to the ground,
and automatic go-around. AHHS delivers precise control
capabilities that allow aircrews to safely operate in
environments that would otherwise be impossible such as
brownout/whiteout conditions, over-water hover operations,
and tight LZs. AHHS is integrated with the aircraft's existing
flight control systems and is capable of interfacing with a
myriad of on-board sensor inputs (including barometric and
radar altimeters, INS, GPS, EGI, accelerometers, gyros, etc.)
and data bus architectures.
The Improved AHHS System is currently being fielded on the
USAF HH-60G PAVE HAWKs, and legacy AHHS System has
been fielded on the MH-53M PAVE LOWs, the Israeli Air Force
CH-53, the Republic of Korea Air Force HH-60P SAR
Helicopter and has been demonstrated on the Israeli UH-60I.
DRS Technologies has over 15 years’ experience in
development, integration and production of AHHS Systems,
with proven performance on a number of helicopter
platforms. The result is an efficient, cost-effective solution
that significantly enhances flight safety and operational
capabilities, making it the after-market flight control
enhancement system of choice.
AHHS System
Cleared for Public Release - DRS TCO under Case Number 13-DS-077 Dated 17 June 2013.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Improves aircrew and helicopter flight safety by
reducing pilot workload, increasing situational
awareness and operational capabilities, especially in
low/no visibility conditions
• Provides hands-free altitude hold, precision 3-D hover,
controlled drift, and automatic landing capabilities
• Qualified for rotary wing platforms: Environmental per
MIL-STD-810E and EMI/EMC per MIL-STD-461
• Proven performance on HH-60G, CH-53 and
MH-53M aircraft
KEY SYSTEM COMPONENTS
SYSTEM ELECTRONICS UNIT
Dimensions
3.75 W x 7.69 H x 16.00 D
inches (9.53 W x 19.53 H x
40.64 D cm)
Weight
9 lbs. (4.08 kg)
Monitors AHHS system and aircraft sensor health
Receives sensor input, performs AHHS flight control
algorithm and outputs flight control command signals
Interfaces
MIL-STD-1553, ARINC
429/575, RS-422
Power
28 VDC, 3.5 Amps
AHHS CONTROL PANEL
Dimensions
5.75 W x 4.50 H x 4.73 D
inches (14.61 W x 11.43 H
x 12.01 D cm)
Weight
3 lbs. (1.36 kg)
Aircrew system interface panel providing mode
selection/indications
Adjust Hover and Approach settings
Failure indications and status reporting
Provides O-Level maintenance and troubleshooting
Interfaces
RS-422
Power
28 VDC, < 1 Amp
GLARE SHIELD INDICATOR
Dimensions
3.91 W x 1.50 H x
2.50 D inches (9.93 W x
3.81 H x 6.35 D cm)
Weight
0.3 lbs. (0.14 kg)
Cockpit Indicators providing qualification and
cyclic/collective engagement status
COLLECTIVE SERVO
Dimensions
5.22 W x 5.73 H x 10.62 D
inches (13.26 W x 14.68 H
x 26.97 D cm)
Weight
13 lbs. (5.90 kg)
Installed in H-60 helicopter applications (as required)
Provides collective control for AHHS altitude hold modes
Provides collective trim capability during non-AHHS flight
Power and control via SEU
GENERAL FEATURES
OPERATING MODES
Barometric altitude cruise (maintains pressure altitude)
Radar altitude cruise (maintains AGL altitude)
Hover velocity hold (maintains 3-D heading/drift velocities
and AGL altitude)
Hover position hold (maintains 3-D true position and
AGL altitude)
3-D coupled approach (follows selected glideslope to
programmable lat/long landing zone)
Go-around (departure to a preset altitude and velocity)
KEY SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
Nighttime and over water operations
ENHANCEMENT SCENARIOS
Brown/white out conditions
Tight landing zone conditions
General workload reduction during low-altitude,
low-speed operations
Specifications subject to change without notice. Copyright © DRS ICAS, LLC 2013. All Rights Reserved.
Export of DRS ICAS, LLC products may be subject to U.S. Export Controls. U.S. Export licenses may be required.
DRS ICAS, LLC.
2601 Mission Point Blvd., Suite 250 Beavercreek, OH 45431 Tel: 937.429.7408 Fax 937.429.7176 www.drs.com marketing@drs.com
Cleared for Public Release – DRS FSO Dated 17 June 2013.
DRS BEA V10 06/17/13