VTOL
Historic Moller flying car prototype up for sale
Moller International is selling its Jetson-like M200X 2-passenger VTOL prototype on eBay. Although it's a long way from the latest designs to rise from the Moller drawing-board like the hybrid flying car, the M200X is a significant piece of aviation history, having completed over 200 manned and unmanned flight demonstrations since 1989. Read More
The autovolantor Flying Car
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September 9, 2008 Moller International has announced that it has designed a hybrid flying car. The two-seater autovolantor is fashioned in the shape of a Ferrari 599 GTB with wings and is claimed to be capable of lifting off vertically from a traffic jam and flying at up to 150 mph for a short distance (about 15 minutes). The autovolantor is designed to function on the road very much like a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) using one of its eight Rotapower engines to generate enough electrical power to drive for up to 40 miles. Read More
Aeros Sky Dragon enters flight testing phase
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New age dirigible designer Aeros has announced that its airship model Aeros 40D Sky Dragon MSN 21 has entered the flight testing phase. The craft will take flight at San Bernardino International Airport, and will be used as an airborne lab for the development of the new breed of variable buoyancy air vehicle – the Aeroscraft systems. Read More
Moller International's M200G Jetson flying vehicle goes on sale in 2009
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July 20, 2008 As the rate of technological advances continues at an astonishing pace there’s probably one question that gets asked more than any other by the average person in the street – or the average person stuck in traffic anyway - why don’t we have flying cars yet? Well the simple answer is that developing a flying car is hard. But the long wait for the solution to car clogged streets could be coming to an end with Moller International announcing that it is in the process of completing its fourth M200 “Jetson” volantor airframe and it expects to complete forty of these fly-by-wire, multi-engine flying vehicles in 2009. Read More
GULL 36 Seaplane UAV begins English Channel flights
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UK based marine aircraft developer Warrior (Aero-Marine) has commenced flying its GULL 36 amphibious UAV over the English Channel. Demonstrating the company's wave-piercing stepless hull, the 4-meter wide craft is designed to cleave through choppy water, handle large waves and overcome strong winds and high tow.
Falx to debut hybrid-electric tilt-rotor aircraft with inbuilt solar charging
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Tilt-rotor aircraft have been around since the 1950s, offering the vertical take-off, hovering and landing abilities of a helicopter with the range, high flight ceiling, speed and fuel economy of a turboprop aeroplane. Now a new venture from Falx Air Vehicles is planning to push the fuel economy angle even further by using a hybrid-electric motor and inbuilt solar arrays. The company expects its upcoming compact single and double-seater tiltrotor aircraft to use as little as 10 litres of fuel per hour airborne, and the quiet electric operation should see these small, light and manoeuvrable aircraft make solid stealth vehicles for military uses. Though not yet confirmed, we may see a full-size prototype as early as the Farnsworth air show this year, and Falx is aiming to have the craft fully certified by the end of 2009. Read More
Aeroscraft ML866: superyacht for the sky officially launched
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It’s as big as a superyacht and not quite as fast as a supercar, but it does have a range of over 3000 miles and can do it over land, sea or snow, lingering anywhere you like the view. A new category of aircraft that fits somewhere in between a blimp, airship or dirigible, the Aeroscraft ML866 project was recently presented at the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) show in Atlanta, Georgia. The key factor of the ML866 design is that it offers superyacht size and comfort in a platform that can operate independently from airports, meaning that a new class of luxury conveyance is about to become available which appears to trump them all. Read More
Aeroscraft ML866: the ultimate corporate aircraft
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The trend towards radical new aircraft designs aimed at achieving new levels of efficiency and operational capability beyond anything currently gracing our skies is on the rise. Recently Gizmag examined Boeing’s Blended-Wing Body (BWB) and now Aeros have announced the new Aeroscraft ML866 aircraft which utilizes a combination of buoyant and dynamic lift to create usage possibilities that far outstrip currently available aircraft platforms. The ML866 can be utilized as a private air yacht, corporate air vehicle, business office in the sky, or commercial commuter, providing its passengers with far more space than any existing business jet. Read More
The ion-propelled, remotely-powered jetpack
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This has to be one of the most 'futuristic' developments we've seen in some time; a new U.S. patent has been awarded to a company that has plans for a safe, silent personal flight device using electromagnetic ion propulsion as its primary thrust generator and drawing its power wirelessly from earthbound inductive green power broadcast stations. California's Personal Flight Systems are taking a serious look at the future of personal flight, and the technology involved will leave you shaking your head. Read More
New CH-47F Chinook helicopter begins Operational Testing with U.S. Army
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February 20, 2007 The first production CH-47F Chinook helicopter is heading for the battlefield in the near future with the news that Operational Testing (OT) for the U.S. Army has begun at Fort Campbell in Kentucky. The aircraft successfully completed acceptance and developmental flight testing last December. The aircraft is the first of 452 CH-47F helicopters included in the U.S. Army Cargo Helicopter modernization program. It features a newly designed, modernized airframe and a Rockwell Collins Common Avionics Architecture System cockpit and BAE Digital Advanced Flight Control System. The advanced avionics provide improved situational awareness for flight crews with an advanced digital map display and a data transfer system that allows storing of preflight and mission data. Improved survivability features include Common Missile Warning and Improved Countermeasure Dispenser Systems. Read More
Unmanned helicopter rescue service for Mount Everest
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February 7, 2007 One of the many problems of climbing a mountain as tall as Mount Everest, is that once you’re up there, there’s not much help available if things go wrong. Most helicopters are not designed to operate above a ceiling of about 14,000ft (4,300m), yet Base Camp on Everest is at nearly 18,000ft (5364m) and the summit is another 11,500ft (3,486m) above that. Now UAV specialist TGR Helicorp, creators of the Snark, has developed an unpiloted full-size alpine rescue helicopter; the Alpine Wasp, which will be able to operate safely and autonomously at altitudes up to and beyond 30,000ft (over 9000m). The company will be donating the Alpine Wasp to the Everest Rescue Trust after it has undergone testing and systems evaluation in the harsh mountain environment of the Mt Cook region of New Zealand during 2007. It will be capable of airlifting up to two sick or injured climbers at a time from extreme altitude, using ultra-modern composite technologies, a revolutionary diesel helicopter engine and rotor blades designed especially for maximum performance in thin air. The Everest Trust is to use the Alpine Wasp as its key technology in building and operating a self-funding unmanned rescue helicopter service for the extreme altitude regions of Nepal. This humanitarian project aims to save lives on Everest and improve the safety and emergency services in Nepal, while directly benefiting the Nepalese people.
The sub US$200,000 family aircraft – the Sky Yacht
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December 12, 2006 Skyacht Aircraft has created a whisper quiet, steerable, Personal Blimp capable of sustained and affordable flight. Under development for four years, the first Personal Blimp, named Airship Alberto, made its first flight on October 27, 2006, becoming the first and only aircraft to meet this seemingly straightforward goal. The Personal Blimp uses hot air (rather than Helium) for lift and silent electric motors for propulsion and is hence a hot air balloon that can be flown, steered and landed in perfect quiet offering passengers a serene flight experience. It can hover and steer around objects making it ideal for, amongst other things, eco-tourism, aerial photography and film-making. It’s due at market in about two years for a price under US$200,000 compared to the smallest helium airship which costs US$2,000,000+ while a top-notch helium ship costs more than US$12 million. When not in use, the Personal Blimp can be deflated and folded for storage (much like a hot air balloon.) The combination of ready buoyancy control and rapid deflation eliminates not only costly hangars but also the large ground crews typically required for helium airships.
GoldenEye 80 ducted fan UAV makes successful first flight
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December 7, 2006 Flying saucer sightings are certain to be on the increase from this point forth as a new type of aerial vehicle comes into existence. The Aurora Flight Sciences GoldenEye 80 unmanned air vehicle made a successful first flight last month, becoming the first ducted fan UAV to fly under the power of a heavy fuel engine. The fully autonomous GoldenEye 80 UAV is being developed under contract to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) through its Organic Air Vehicle (OAV-II) program. The GoldenEye 80 is designed to give company commanders the ability to spot, identify, designate, and destroy targets. With its powerful sensors and quiet operation, the aircraft can dash to a target area, hover motionless in the sky, and observe and designate a target – all without being heard by people on the ground. The unique design and embedded capabilities of the GoldenEye 80 enable the UAV to be used for a variety of military missions, from conducting surveillance beyond hills in rural areas to gathering intelligence while flying between buildings in urban warfare operations. Read More
Special Forces get the first CV-22 Ospreys
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November 18, 2006 The United States Special Forces have been the best equipped in the world for a long time, though the gap widened considerably on Thursday with the first delivery of the CV-22 Osprey to the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field, Florida. The CV-22 is the Air Force version of the V-22 Osprey, a tiltrotor aircraft that combines the speed and range of fixed wing aircraft with the vertical flight performance of a helicopter. With its engine nacelles and rotors in vertical position, it can take off, land and hover like a helicopter, but once airborne its engine nacelles can be rotated to convert the aircraft to a turboprop airplane capable of high-speed, high-altitude flight. The CV-22 offers unprecedented speed in the ingress and extraction of special forces into any terrain. Just in case the advantages of the CV-22 and its almost identical brethren the V-22 aren’t entirely obvious, the following recently published briefing by Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute highlights why the Osprey is one system the military needs more of right now. Read More
The World’s Smallest RC Helicopter for US$100
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November 1, 2006 The lines between manpackable UAVs for the military and high end Radio Controlled toys blurred some time ago, and when we saw the latest toy from Interactive Toy Concepts, we began to wonder just how far this trend might go, given the trend towards miniaturisation of everything. The Micro Mosquito is claimed to be the Worlds smallest, lightest and quietest full function indoor R/C helicopter and weighs only 15 grams – that’s hellishly impressive, but the startling bit is the retail price of just over US$100. We’re sure it’s not the smallest, because military contractors around the world no doubt have much smaller versions in the labs – but this one does have the advantage of being available on retail shelves within the next few weeks and is certain to be there only a short while. Read More
UK's VTOL Harrier Jets upgraded
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October 11, 2006 An upgraded version of the iconic Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Harrier GR9 aircraft has entered service with the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy and Royal Air Force after a GBP500 million improvement package. The GR9 programme provides updated digital systems and enhanced operational capability that will allow the RAF to hit a wider range of targets harder, at longer range, with greater precision and with less risk to aircrew. A number of new systems have been or will be integrated onto the GR9, linked by a new on-board computer. These include the Precision Guided Bomb and infra red & television variants of the Maverick missile. Also included is the Successor Identification Friend or Foe (SIFF) system, which will make the aircraft less vulnerable in an operational environment. The GR9 will also carry the Brimstone missile which will enable it to attack up to 12 ground targets simultaneously compared with just two with the GR7. Read More
Hybrid Manned/Unmanned Light Helicopter Makes First Flight
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October 10, 2006 This photo shows the first of two newly designed A/MH-6X light-turbine helicopters lifting off for the first time late last month at Boeing’s Rotorcraft Systems facility in Mesa, Arizona. The flight was a significant milestone in the continuing development of the versatile hybrid manned/unmanned military aircraft which combines the proven performance of the A/MH-6M Mission Enhanced Little Bird (MELB) with the unmanned aerial vehicle technologies of the Unmanned Little Bird (ULB) Demonstrator, a modified MD 530F civil helicopter that has been in development since 2004. Aircraft performance will be similar to the ULB Demonstrator with an additional 1,000 pounds of payload that can be used for increased range, endurance or mission hardware. Total payload for the ULB Demonstrator is greater than 2,400 pounds. Read More
Obstacle Cable and Terrain Avoidance System (OCTAS) showcased for rotorcraft
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July 22, 2006 BAE Systems has developed a day/night, all-weather, all-obscurant capability that enables helicopter pilots to fly safely and avoid obstacles, including cables, in darkness, bad weather, and brown-out conditions. The Obstacle Cable and Terrain Avoidance System (OCTAS), being demonstrated this week at the Farnborough International Airshow, combines a Radar Cable Detection (RCD) system with BAE Systems’ TERPROM terrain avoidance system and a pilot display. It offers a low-cost way to significantly improve pilot situational awareness and can be expanded through addition of other sensors and capabilities to suit specific missions. Read More
Little Bird - helicopter without a pilot
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July 13, 2006 Just three months ago we wrote about the AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopter demonstrating the ability to control an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) weapon payload using the Unmanned Little Bird (ULB) UAV technology demonstrator as the remote vehicle. Now the Little Bird has achieved a major milestone in its development by flying unmanned for the first time. The payload for the first unmanned flight weighed 740 pounds, but could have carried an additional 550 pounds of payload. A more advanced configuration, which is expected to make its first flight later this summer, adds an additional 800 pounds of payload. Add all that up and the weapon payload could be as great as 2000 pounds, flown autonomously while its payload or sensor is guided from a remote site or another platform. We suddenly see a future of battlefields with flocks of warbirds, all networked, armed and very, very dangerous ... and not a pilot in sight!
Eurocopter UH145 wins US$3 billion contract
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July 2, 2006 EADS has landed the hotly contested contract to supply the U.S. Army’s next-generation Light Utility Helicopters (LUH) in a deal worth up to US$ 3 billion. The French-German company teamed with Sikorsky Aircraft to win the contest with its Eurocopter UH-145, a military version of the EC145. The UH145 flies at 131 kts, has a range of 370 nm, endurance of 3.4 hrs and can carry 2 pilots and 8 passengers. Its unique attributes include an antitorque rotor mounted on a high tailboom for safety and a set of aft-mounted clamshell cabin doors. UH145 production will move from Germany to the United States as part of the deal which is the first major win for EADS as a prime contractor for the US military. Read More
New CH-47F Chinook helicopter unveiled
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June 16, 2006 The first production CH-47F Chinook helicopter was unveiled to the U.S. Army during a rollout ceremony in Ridley Park, Pa. The aircraft is the first of 452 new CH-47F heavy-transport helicopters included in the U.S. Army Cargo Helicopter modernization program. The aircraft features a newly designed, modernized airframe and a Rockwell Collins Common Avionics Architecture System advanced digital cockpit to meet the needs of current and future warfighters. Powered by two 4,868-horsepower Honeywell engines, the new CH-47F can reach speeds greater than 175 mph and transport payloads weighing more than 21,000 lbs. The CH-47F, with the Robertson Aviation Extended Range Fuel System, has a mission radius greater than 400 miles. Read More
ScanEagle UAV demonstrates maritime capabilities
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May 18, 2006 Last year we wrote about the ScanEagle UAV and its success in supplying U.S. Marines in Iraq with critical real-time tactical battlefield imagery. This time, we’re writing about the adaptation of the ScanEagle as a low-cost intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platform for amphibious operations. Currently being trialled for its maritime capabilities by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) in "Trial Vigilant Viper" off the coast of Scotland, the ScanEagle completed ten autonomous flights with full launch and recovery from a Type 23 Frigate in rough sea conditions. A small UAV such as the ScanEagle can significantly increase the capability of a boat, and the missions conducted during the trial illustrate this enormous potential for land and sea surveillance, beach reconnaissance, force protection, maritime interdiction and naval gunfire support. Read More
The first fully electronic helicopter fly-by-wire system
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May 5, 2006 As part of its Helicopter Electro Actuation Technology (HEAT) program for the U.K. Royal Navy’s EH101 Merlin helicopter fleet, AgustaWestland has awarded a US$32 million contract to BAE Systems for the development of the digital flight control computer. The new HEAT system will replace older, more complex hydraulic systems and will be the first electromechanical fly-by-wire system installed on a helicopter. It will reduce pilot workload, cost of ownership, maintenance, and weight while improving survivability, safety, and aircraft handling and agility.
SkyTote - the VTOL UAV that transitions into horizontal flight
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April 8, 2006 One of the greatest difficulties with vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is that they invariably don’t have high speed as one of their attributes. The principles are well explained in our article about the Cartercopter, and it’s one of the prime reasons the US military has persisted with the V-22 Osprey. There has been much emphasis on the development of new unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) in recent times, and development imperatives have often been torn between the various needs for UAVs that can quickly move from target to target yet loiter as a fixed and stable platform, all the while operating with no launch and retrieval infrastructure. One of the planet's most innovative companies, Aerovironment, has proposed an innovative configuration known as the Skytote to meet all of these needs. The SkyTote is a novel UAV using dual counter rotating propellers that will take off and land vertically like a helicopter, but also transition into horizontal flight like a conventional aircraft for efficient point-to-point operation. This complex vehicle uses an intricate drive system to allow helicopter operations with cyclic and collective control, as well as blade pitch control, combined with normal aircraft control surfaces in conventional flight operations
Weaponised, man-transportable Micro UAVs
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March 14, 2006) Military conflict over the millennia has been defined largely by the technologies available – the spear, the sword, the horse, gunpowder, rifles, cannons, motorised transport, tanks, the anti-tank and anti-personnel mine, aircraft, rockets and so on. One of the coming capabilities capable of offering a massive advantage in warfare involves robots, sometimes guided and sometimes autonomous that walk, carry, roll, swim and fly. The first UAVs were used to improve situational awaereness and this has quickly evolved – now all but the smallest UAVs have been armed and found to be very effective at delivering precision firepower. The Tactical Aerospace Group (TAG) is about to reveal a new class of weaponised UAV that will be particularly useful for brigade level and down. Initially designed with the ability to be transported through a jungle environment for use in drug interdiction, the TAG UAVs can accompany spec-op teams, be carried over severe terrain and can be fitted with recoilless firearms, new technologies such as Metal Storm and up to 70mm rockets/missiles adapted from existing shoulder launched weapons. Read More
V-22 Osprey readies for combat
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March 12, 2006 EXTENSIVE IMAGE LIBRARY It’s been a long road for the Osprey but the aircraft first conceived several decades ago as being uniquely suitable for a wide range of military applications is finally being readied for the battlefront. The first combat-configured CV-22 Osprey left Bell Helicopter in Texas earlier this month and can expected to see action in Iraq and Afghanistan within months, most likely in transporting special operations teams and their gear into and out of action. The Osprey CV-22 converts between airplane and helicopter modes and is twice as fast as any previous VTOL aircraft, but also has significantly enhanced survivability and five times the range, offering operational flexibility beyond its most obvious in delivering specialist military capability to the exact point it is required and retrieving it afterwards.
Eagle Eye VTOL AUV First Flight
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January 26, 2006 Bell Helicopter’s TR918 Eagle Eye Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) lifted off the ground for the first time yesterday, hovered for nine minutes, executed yaw and translation manoeuvres and then landed safely. It then undertook a second flight within 30 minutes of the maiden flight's landing. We have previously written about the TR918 here - the Eagle Eye uses the same tiltrotor system as a number of other Bell-Boeing VTOL designs, most notably the V-22 Osprey (Bell - Boeing)and the Quad TiltRotor.
The Snark - the meanest VTOL UAV on the planet
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October 29, 2005 Meet the Snark – an Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle of immense capability that demonstrates just how far the breed has come in such a short period of time. Constructed mainly of Carbon Fibre and Kevlar, the Snark is light and fast (280 km/h), quiet (special rotor blades make it extremely quiet ), virtually invisible to radar or infrared detetection (it recycles its exhaust gases and emits little heat) and can carry a payload of 680kg, offering the ability to pack both massive firepower (enough to sink a ship) and surveillance equipment (such as high res infrared cameras with a magnification of 7500). But wait, there’s more, and this is the clincher. The Snark is the first UAV that runs on diesel fuel, which means it can be easily integrated into any military force – current UAVs require their own special fuel supply to be transported with them whereas the entire US Army plans to run on a single one fuel - diesel. Last and probably most importantly, the Snark can stay airborne for 24 hours at a time, offering an unprecedented loiter time for a machine of this capability. Read More
Mobile helicopter landing and maintenance facility
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October 15, 2005 Australia’s vast distances, harsh climate and isolated communities present major challenges for companies delivering vital services like electricity. To help in this environment, Brisbane-based Aeropower has developed a Volvo 380hp FM9 truck into a mobile helicopter landing and maintenance facility. Aeropower’s Volvo-based mobile facilities for its fleet of Hughes MD500 helicopters plays an essential role in the aerial survey and maintenance of high voltage power transmission lines by providing not only a safer, elevated landing platform for its helicopter crew, but also fuel, water and maintenance provisions to maximise operating efficiency in the field. Read More
Airscooter develops petrol and electric coaxial rotor UAVs
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October 5, 2005 Innovative air vehicle developer AirScooter has featured in Gizmag previously with its AirScooter II, a vehicle we dubbed, “The Helicopter for the Home.” Things have been moving quickly for the company in recent times, with several patented and patent-pending aeronautical products being developed to employ coaxial rotor technology. These products include a high-performance AirScout 70” Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and an electric powered UAV, both targeted at the commercial and military markets. Read More
US$3.5 million Skycar goes on sale
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October 3, 2005 Neiman Marcus, the specialty retailer renowned for its unique luxurious offerings,
never fails to make available some delectable big toys for big boys and girls when it unveils its annual Christmas Catalogue. In recent years we’ve seen the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book offer a Custom Designed Mermaid Suit, a Dodge 500hp Tomahawk motorcycle and even the first commercially-available Deep Flight Aviator, but the 79th Annual Christmas catalogue has exceeded all previous efforts by putting the M400 Moller Skycar Prototype on sale – it’ll set you back just US$3.5 million but what the heck! Other fantasy gifts for the person who dares to dream big included in the 2005 book include a His & Hers Photo Booth, an NM Edition Lexus GS 450h (in 2003, the limited edition BMW 645Ci sold out in seven minutes), a Dreamboat levitating sculpture with "no visible means of support," a Grand Empire Railroad, and a replica of the 2005 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race winning car with flat-screen monitor, IndyCar Series 2005 video game and all related electronics. Read More
Advanced Tandem Rotor Helicopter (ATRH) contract for JHL program
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September 24, 2005 The U.S. Army has awarded a second contract to perform conceptual design and analysis of a vertical-takeoff-and-landing concept for the Joint Heavy Lift (JHL) program. One contract, worth US$3.4 million, goes to Boeing Phantom Works for its Advanced Tandem Rotor Helicopter (ATRH). Boeing proposed the ATRH in the Army's low-speed category, which is for vehicles that fly between 160 and 200 knots. As previously reported, the other contract, worth US$3.45 million, was awarded to the Bell Helicopter - Boeing Phantom Works team for the QuadTiltrotor (QTR) aircraft, which was entered in the high-speed category of 250 knots or more. The Boeing Advanced Tandem Rotor Helicopter exploits the system maturity, the extraordinary VTOL cargo-handling versatility and the unsurpassed maritime suitability of the tandem rotor platform, which uses two equally-sized rotors that spin in opposite directions for lift. Read More
Quad TiltRotor (QTR) aircraft development contract awarded
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September 24, 2005 The team of Bell Helicopter and Boeing has been awarded a $3.45 million contract by the U.S. Army to perform conceptual design and analysis of its Quad TiltRotor (QTR) aircraft for the Joint Heavy Lift (JHL) Program. "The Bell Boeing team is exceptionally pleased to have been one of the teams chosen by the Joint Service Team to take the first step in providing a truly transformational vertical lift cargo aircraft," said Mike Redenbaugh, chief executive officer of Bell Helicopter. "The critical need for long range, high speed, heavy lift without access to runways is being highlighted around the world every day." Read More
Your own helicopter for under US$20,000
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September 21, 2005 Flying is not a sport generally associated with those people who are light of wallet – which makes the Mosquito Ultralight helicopter something of a rarity. The entire kit for the Mosquito can be purchased for US$20,000 and if you think the minimalist Mosquito leaves you a bit vulnerable, there’s the fully enclosed Mosquito XE and XEL which can be purchased for US$23,000 apeice. Building the kits will cost you about 200 to 300 hours to build or you can have the plane built for you for a flat US$4000. Getting airborn for under US$20,000 in your own, new helicopter is quite a feat – we’re not aware of any other helicopter in this price category and on top of that, both Mosquito variants offer very low maintenance and operating costs. Read More
AH-64D Apache Longbow gets new Arrowhead system
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September 19, 2005 Lockheed Martin has delivered the first eight Arrowhead systems for the U.S. Army's Modernized Target Acquisition and Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor (M-TADS/PNVS) program. The Arrowhead unit provides the most advanced electro-optical targeting and pilotage system available to AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopter crews for maximizing safe flight in day, night and adverse-weather environments. Arrowhead continues a 23-year legacy of serving as the "eyes" of the Army's AH-64 Apache attack helicopter with the first fielding of the current TADS/PNVS in 1983. Arrowhead's newly designed FLIR sensors and avionics use leading-edge image processing techniques to give pilots the best possible resolution to avoid obstacles such as wires and tree limbs during low-level flight. Read More
