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PRODUCTS & SERVICES
IN GPS WE TRUST?
Both the fixed- and rotary wing
communities are heavily reliant on GPS to
deliver operational effect on today and
tomorrow’s battlefields.
The importance of Electronic Warfare (EW)
on today’s battlefield has during recent years
been underlined by the very efficient
utilization of different EW techniques, for
example GPS jamming by Russia in the
Ukraine and Crimea conflicts as well as in
Syria. There have also been incidents in
Norway related to GPS jamming.
The Swedish Defence Materiel
Administration Test & Evaluation Division
(FMV T&E) is an operator of several test,
training and exercise ranges in Sweden. A key
capability of FMV T&E’s primary range Vidsel
is the possibility to set up live GPS jamming
NAV WAR scenarios to test the jamming
robustness of an aircraft or GPS-guided
weapon system. This is possible due to the
extremely remote location of the range and
the almost free radio spectrum.
The NAV WAR capabilities include jamming
of aircraft and missiles during flight. The
jamming capability is remotely controlled and
can therefore support both captive carry and
live firing scenarios. Both GPS denial and
deception scenarios are possible.
Potential scenarios test engineers at the
Vidsel range have used for the GBU 48 and 54
Paveway laser-guided bombs (LGB) have
include jamming of the weapon carrier during
navigation to the release point, combined
jamming of the aircraft and LGB after arming
of weapon and then jamming of the LGB itself
after launch.
Another potential scenario is to combine
GPS-jamming with adverse weather
conditions. This is an approach that has been
used by the Bundeswehr for their LUH SOF
(H145M) helicopter. \\
NEW GAS MEETS F-GAS REGULATIONS
On January 1, 2030, legislation will be
introduced that fully prohibits the
maintenance of machines using fluids with a
global warming potential (GWP) of higher
than 2,500.
Climats has been a designer and
manufacturer of environmental test chambers
since 1974. Just over a year ago the company
decided to invest in the development of
devices that are compliant with the new
regulations, or even exceed it. To achieve this,
Climats’ equipment has moved to use R449A
gas instead of R404 gas as a refrigerant.
The use of R449A gas combined with a
new refrigerant circuit reduces the ecological
footprint of its environmental test chambers
significantly. The GWP of R449A is 65% lower
than the GWP of R404A, while offering
equivalent performance.
For users, the benefits are twofold. The use
of the R449A gas makes it possible to move
towards meeting the new regulations over a
long period of time and to respect the
environment. With a GWP of 1397, R449A gas
also gives an advantage in terms of
maintenance. Machines that have a maximum
charge threshold below the equivalent of 50
tonnes of CO2 only require an annual
inspection. Climats machines can therefore
keep the same load of calorific fluid without
generating any extra inspections compared
to the use of R404A.
Proof of our experience and our know-how
is that all of the most prestigious testing
laboratories have chosen to work with
environmental climatic chambers supplied by
Climats and to date, over 250 machines
equipped with R449A are already in service
across the world. \\
JUNE \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
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climats
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visit www.magupdate.co.uk/pati NOW!
German Light Utility Helicopter Special Operations
Forces (LUH SOF) H145M at Vidsel Test Range
during cold climate and GPS jamming trials
/AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
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