Turkey’s Meteksan have signed the fiber laser-based Active Helicopter Obstacle Detection System Project contract in 2019 with the Turkish Republic Presidency of Defense Industries to improve the aircraft navigation safety in low-altitude flight conditions, especially helicopter platforms. The development stage of the product has been completed by Meteksan Defence and HETS will be exhibited for the first time at the Meteksan Defence booth during IDEF 2021 Exhibition, ?stanbul.
There are many obstacles that threaten the safe course of helicopters, especially when they are flying at low altitudes. These obstacles can be summarized as high voltage power lines, meteorological conditions or artificial and natural obstacles. Nearly 40 helicopter accidents in Turkey since 1990, with some resulting in soldiers being martyred. Emphasizing that the aviation industry has been working intensively on systems that can detect and show obstacles in a timely manner to the pilot. The passive obstacle recognition systems which are currently used in Turkey’s helicopters and the active obstacle detection system that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) currently lacks.
The Active Helicopter Obstacle Detection System is operational with 30*40 degrees Field-of-View, and scans in 2 Hz for detecting vertical and horizontal obstacles upto 5 mm diameter. Total instrumental range is 1500 m. With the LIDAR technology, accurate signal processing and user-friendly visualization characteristics, HETS alerts the pilot on-time against obstacles. In the first system, the geographical positions of the elements that present a danger to the helicopters are marked on the map, and they are displayed to the pilot when they are in motion. The latter, meanwhile, is particularly useful when a helicopter is flying in geographies that pilots are not familiar with.
Meteksan Savunma is a Turkish defense technology company, based in Ankara specializing in radar systems, perimeter surveillance systems, laser and electro-optic systems, communication systems, underwater acoustic systems and simulators. It is part of Bilkent Holding, a large conglomerate funded by Bilkent University, which is Turkey’s 15th largest industrial group, and privately held. Meteksan is one of the suppliers of the Turkish Armed Forces, and has been involved in projects such as missile defense systems, attack helicopters, UAVs, corvettes and underwater weapons systems.
