Hanwha Systems has awarded a contract to Elbit Systems to equip the next generation Korean fighter jets with embedded Terrain Following-Terrain Avoidance (TF/TA) systems.
Under the $43m contract, Elbit will equip the TF/TA systems on the aircraft that are currently under development.
The company will carry out the contract work for six years.
Elbit Systems Aerospace Division executive vice-president and general manager Yoram Shmuely said: “We are proud to be in a position to increase the capabilities of airforces through joint development with Hanwha Systems.”
With the TF/TA solution, the aircraft can fly and manoeuvre safely at low-altitudes, in zero visibility and instrument meteorological conditions.
Furthermore, they will be able to operate undetected in hostile territory.
Elbit’s TF/TA system interfaces with the autopilot system and fuses data from a range of on-board sensors and a digital terrain elevation database, along with flight performance characteristics.
This will enable the fighter jets to maintain optimal altitude throughout the mission.
Last February, the TF/TA system became operational on board C-130 aircraft of an unidentified airforce.
The TF/TA system is offered to military air-lifters and helicopters and enables military transport aircraft to conduct low altitude flights in IMC safely.
It combines high-resolution ground mapping data from an on-board terrain-following radar that is complemented by a digital terrain elevation database.
The real-time terrain data processing and advanced algorithms of the system take into account the flight performance characteristics of the aircraft and enable anticipation of variations in the terrain.
