13 Sep 05. The sensor fusion software developed by EADS Defence Electronics for Turkish airspace surveillance on board the “Peace Eagle” early warning aircraft, has successfully completed its acceptance test. As the company announced during the Defence Systems & Equipment International fair DSEi in London, the Multi-sensor Integration (MSI) software was accepted by Boeing in its role as the general contractor for the Peace Eagle programme following two intensive weeks of testing involving approximately 160 individual tests. The MSI software is in service on board the NATO AWACS fleet and has been ordered also for the Australian “Wedgetail” programme.
Based on the existing capabilities and on the experience gained in the diverse programmes EADS has also offered an advanced solution for the British “Eagle” programme. The Multi-Sensor Integration is the central element of this upgrade to enhance the airborne warning and control capability of the RAF “Sentry” airborne early warning aircraft.
The four 737 AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning and Control) early warning aircraft developed by Boeing and operated by the Turkish Air Force will be equipped with EADS Defence Electronics’ MSI software. By processing a multitude of reconnaissance data, it allows a situation picture to be produced in real time and targets to be automatically identified and tracked.
“Multi-sensor Integration guarantees a considerable improvement in automated target tracking and identification during network-centric operations”, explained Bernhard Gerwert, Head of EADS Defence Electronics in London. “This means our sensor fusion software will greatly assist the officer in charge of the operation and the soldiers with airborne airspace surveillance.”
The MSI software can be used for identifying the movement paths of air, sea and ground targets. Identification data, such as conformity between the flight paths identified and the flight plans, is compiled in order to benefit as much as possible from the data sources available. Should the data be contradictory, a conflict solution mode is automatically engaged. These functions are working on a unique rule based artificial intelligence system.
The MSI software developed for the Turkish Peace Eagle project is based on the MSI software which EADS Defence Electronics developed for NATO’s AWACS early warning systems and for the similarly structured Wedgetail programme of the Australian Air Force, each one with the customer’s own special focal points. In the Wedgetail project, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was the first customer to decide in favour of the new AEW&C platform. The maiden flight took place in May 2004. At present, EADS is supporting the company Boeing during the integration of the software. This will be followed by further assistance with the test flights.