Integrating GPS Within the USCG HH-65A Avionics Suite

Harry Suszko

Abstract:	The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) HH-65A helicopter was designed primarily for short range search and rescue operations, along with secondary mission roles of patrol/observation for law enforcement and cargo hook operations. An integrated avionic system, developed by Rockwell International-Collins Government Avionics Division, enables the HH-65A to operate from prepared and unprepared areas both day and night under visual and instrument flight conditions, providing automatic navigation to a point, search patterns, and guidance into a hover. Integrating GPS.within the HH-65A will give enhanced navigation accuracy for search and rescue missions, global operation with consistent navigation precision, and improved navigation under adverse environmental conditions. The current USCG/USN emphasis is providing the HH-65A platform with a high degree of DoD commonality especially in the area of navigation. The integration of GPS is essential to the achievement of this objective. Under a current Naval Air Development Center (NADC) contract, Rockwell's goals for this integration are to: (1) minimize the amount of aircraft modification; (2) improve the existing mission computer navigational accuracy; and (3) fully utilize the capability of GPS as a reversionary area navigator while maintaining common operating procedures with normal mission computer functions. As the prime navigation sensor within an integrated flight management system, the GPS receiver/processor will send data to a mission computer Kalman filter for error updates to determine aircraft present position. Upon failure of the mission computer, the GPS receiver/processor automatically becomes a reversionary navigator, feeding navigational data into the cockpit flight displays and flight director system. Beginning with a background description of the five systems and navigation processing function which make up the existing HH-65A integrated avionics, this paper will describe the integration design of the GPS 5-channel receiver/processor (RCVR-3A) and associated antenna electronics into the HH-65A avionics suite. Also, an overview of the GPS integration design implementation as well as the GPS operational procedures compatible with current flight management procedures will be given.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 44th Annual Meeting of The Institute of Navigation (1988) June 21 - 23, 1988 U.S. Naval Academy Annapolis, Maryland
Pages:	130 - 136
Cite this article:	Suszko, Harry, "Integrating GPS Within the USCG HH-65A Avionics Suite," Proceedings of the 44th Annual Meeting of The Institute of Navigation (1988), Annapolis, Maryland, June 1988, pp. 130-136.
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