Airbus demonstrates ground-based operation of C295 FITS mission system
COMMOMISS paves the way for ground control of airborne mission systems, according to Airbus. (Photo: Airbus)
COMMOMISS ‘will pave the future of airborne tactical mission systems’, claims Airbus.
Airbus revealed on 4 May that it has successfully concluded a flight test campaign featuring a new capability for tactical maritime reconnaissance aboard the C295, which enables the onboard Fully Integrated Tactical System (FITS) to be operated remotely from the ground.
Four COMMOMISS test flights in April over southern Spain involved an Airbus C295 ISR testbed equipped with a Collins Aerospace avionics package.
‘The aircraft performed standard maritime patrol missions with all sensors controlled in near real-time by a mission operator based at a ground station at Airbus’ Getafe site,’ Airbus stated.
Sensor control was successfully handed over to the ground control station, with different surveillance tasks such as EO/IR pointing control and radar management performed by the ground crew using the installed Ka-band SATCOM.
‘COMMOMISS will pave the future of airborne tactical mission systems’, Airbus claimed, by allowing a harmonised mission system architecture, human-machine interface (HMI) and CONOPS for crewed aircraft and UAVs as well as fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft.
‘The hardware required to implement this new capability is available for new customers interested in the C295 ISR, which means that the capacities of the COMMOMISS could be available for any customer from now on,’ Airbus added.
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