Elbit’s Terrain Following/Terrain Avoidance System Declared Operational Onboard C-130 Aircraft | Israel Defense

Elbit Systems

Elbit’s Terrain Following/Terrain Avoidance System Declared Operational Onboard C-130 Aircraft | Israel Defense:  Elbit Systems’ TF/TA system enables military transport aircraft to safely conduct low altitude flights in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC), extending their operational envelop

Following extensive flight testing and verification by Special Operations pilots, Elbit Systems’ new Terrain Following/Terrain Avoidance (TF/TA) system was declared operational onboard C-130 aircraft of an undisclosed air force. The provided TF/TA system is part of an Elbit Systems’ lead comprehensive C-130 avionics upgrade program.

Elbit Systems’ TF/TA system enables military transport aircraft to safely conduct low altitude flights in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC), significantly extending their operational envelop.

The Company’s TF/TA system combines high-resolution ground mapping data from an onboard Terrain-Following Radar that is complemented by a Digital Terrain Elevation Database, offering high maneuverability. The system’s real-time terrain data processing and advanced algorithms take into account the aircraft’s flight performance characteristics, thus enabling anticipation of variations in the terrain and providing optimized climb/descent commands to keep the aircraft in the selected altitude for the entire mission.

Elbit offers the TF/TA is to military air-lifters and helicopters and can be implemented as part of the Company’s basic Communication, Navigation and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) avionics upgrade suite or as a stand-alone component.


Terrain Following and Terrain Avoidance (TF/TA)

C-130J - YRUAS

Under the collaborative deveplopment, Elbit Systems’ TF/TA head-up display (TA/TF HUD) application is coupled with Northrop Grumman’s AN/APN-241 Terrain Following Radar for an avionic upgrade for existing or new C-130 Hercules transport aircraft. The TF/TA HUD demonstrator is expected to fly within the upcoming year on an international customer’s C-130 Transport Aircraft.

The Head-Up Display view of the TF/TA system developed for the C-130. Photo: Elbit Systems

The TF/TA system relies on a Digital Terrain Elevation Database and the Terrain Following Radar as an active sensor, driven and controlled by Elbit Systems’ Smart Displays. Implemented as part of a “Glass Cockpit” concept, the system is positioned as a competitive and attractive enhancement for C-130 modernization and upgrading.

The system evolved in Elbit Systems’ Futures Lab, the company’s innovation center tasked with rapid prototyping and proof of concept evolving aerospace systems. The TF/TA system has already been selected for integration into an ongoing C-130 upgrade program.

AN/APN-241 weather/terrain avoidance radar from Northrop Grumman is used on the C-130J and C-27J tactical transport aircraft

Northrop Grumman’s AN/APN-241 radar has been selected as the standard radar for the Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules and Alenia C-27J transport aircraft. Additionally, the AN/APN-241 radar has been integrated and installed on the CASA C-295 transport aircraft. Source: defense-update.com

Source: Lockheed Martin

C-130J Hercules: Details