Company To Complete Primary Flight And Navigation Display Upgrades For U.S. Customs And Border Protection Fleet Of P-3 Orion LTR And AEW Aircraft

Astronautics Corporation of America has received a purchase order from Lockheed Martin to upgrade its primary flight and navigation displays on the P-3 Orion Long Range Tracker (LRT) and Airborne Early Warning (AEW) aircraft for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP).

The Astronautics AFD 6800 electronic flight instrument system (EFIS) will update the P-3 flight deck with four 6x8-inch multifunction displays—two primary flight and two navigation—on 14 aircraft with additional spares. As part of the upgrade, Astronautics will port existing software from its current displays in order to minimize training and certification impacts, and additionally create harnesses for equipment installation.

“Astronautics is able to deliver the highest reliability displays tailored to meet our customers’ missions, ensuring they are able to operate wherever they need, whenever they need,” explained Robert Koelling, Astronautics director of business development. “For the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Astronautics provided an incremental, modular plan for upgrading its P-3 fleet that limited aircraft downtime and met budget and schedule needs.”

The new displays will have modern LCD panels with improved viewing angle performance and color rendering using LED backlights that run cooler with less power and support more vibrant color. Expected delivery is summer 2019.

Astronautics’ displays have been on the P-3 since the early 1960s when it first equipped the aircraft with attitude direction and horizontal situation indicators. In the late 1990s, Astronautics upgraded these electromechanical instruments with its first-generation EFIS, creating a fully integrated glass cockpit.

The P-3s are high-endurance, all-weather, tactical turbo-prop aircraft primarily used to conduct long-range aerial patrols and surveillance missions.

(Images provided with Astronautics News Release)

FMI: www.astronautics.com