LE BOURGET, FRANCE - Smiths Aerospace received a $5 million U.S. Army contract to install and demonstrate the value of a Health and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS) on UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters. Smiths facilities in Southampton, UK and Michigan, USA will design, manufacture and install the equipment, as well as provide on site training and support.
The Health and Usage Monitoring System will provide the capability to acquire, store and process aircraft structural, engine, drive train, electrical and voice data. A crash survivable cockpit voice and flight data recorder will further aide aircraft incident prevention and investigation.
Commenting on the demonstration phase, Marc Brodeur, marketing managerwith Smiths Aerospace explained, "Data collected by the system will be used for maintenance, history, performance trending, aircraft monitoring, training and accident investigations. The demonstration will be used to develop and demonstrate reduction of Operations and Support costs, enhanced force protection, accelerated flow of accurateinformation and improved maintainability."
Smiths Aerospace has health and usage monitoring systems fielded on more than 20 helicopter types and has in excess of 1.5 million flight hours. In addition to the HUMS, Smiths supplies the following systems on various H-60 models: • Voice and Data Recorders, Rotor Analysis and Diagnostic Systems, Rocket Interface Units, Ethernet Switching Hub (Michigan) • Health & Usage Monitors (Southampton, UK) • AFCS/ Module/ Fuel Management Panels (New York) • Interference Blanker Units (Florida) • APU Generators (Ohio) • Data Transfer Systems, Common Cockpit Keyset (Maryland) • Coax Cables (Times Microwave, Connecticut) • Landing Gear, center console & step (California) • Automatic Blade Fold Actuation (New Jersey)
Produced by Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, based in Stratford, Connecticut, the UH-60 was made to transport soldiers into combat. More than 1,500 Army Black Hawks are now serve with active duty, Reserve and National Guard units around the world. Black Hawks provide the platform for a wide range of derivatives, including EH-60A electronic warfare aircraft, MH-60K Special Operations aircraft, the VH-60 executive transport helicopter, the U.S. Air Force's HH-60G Pave Hawk, the U.S. Navy's SeaHawk family of helicopters and the U.S. Coast Guard's HH-60J JayHawk for search and rescue.
Smiths Aerospace is a leading transatlantic aerospace equipment and systems company, with more than 10,000 employees and nearly $2 billion sales split between Europe and North America. Smiths Aerospace, a part of Smiths Group plc, holds key positions in the supply chains of all major military and civil aircraft, helicopter and engine manufacturers and is a world-leader in digital, electrical and mechanical systems, engine components and customer services. For more information visit www.smiths-aerospace.com.
