UK MoD seeks portable tablets for rotary-wing platforms

The UK MoD is seeking portable tablets for use on rotary-wing platforms that alert users to potential obstacles. Pictured are 845 Naval Air Squadron (NAS), Commando Helicopter Force, Merlin Mk3, 662 Squadron AAC Apache AH1, and 27 Squadron RAF Chinook CH-47. (Royal Navy)

UK rotary-wing platforms will get portable electronic devices that enhance situational awareness for the crew.

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has detailed a requirement for a Common Aviation Situational Awareness (CASA) tool intended for use on rotary-wing platforms such as the Boeing Apache, Boeing Chinook, Leonardo Merlin, Leonardo Wildcat, and Airbus Helicopters Dauphin, according to a dynamic pre-qualification questionnaire (DPQQ) on 4 October.

Valued at GBP10 million (USD11.25 million), the five-year contract is expected to start on 3 July 2023. The deadline for interested parties to submit proposals is 3 November.

It is envisaged that the situational awareness tool will be a tablet-based digital moving map that has a wire/obstruction alerting system, the MoD said. It will therefore be independent of the airframe and integrated systems, the MoD added.

A visual representation of the topography in real time, which displays obstacles that may pose a threat to the platform, is required. The assumption is that the proposed system will utilise third-party software provided as part of the contracted solution, the MoD said.

It is to form part of the post-mission debriefing process, enabling information obtained in-flight to be downloaded, stored, and reviewed. CASA will also enable crews to capture images that can be sent to the relevant subject-matter experts for further assistance.