Upgrades scheduled for special operations aircraft.

• Author: Tadjdeh, Yasmin

As commandos face new and complex missions around the globe, acquisition leaders are planning a slew of upgrades for Special Operations Command's inventory of helicopters and tilt-rotor aircraft.

The modifications will include improvements to engine performance and survivability.

At Air Force Special Operations Command, officials are working to make improvements to the CV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, said Col. Lee Anderson, AFSOC's chief of operations training.

The aircraft provides commandos with long-range, high-speed vertical lift, he said.

"The farther away I can launch from, the more flexibility I have ... to cover a broad area from one location, or ... to be able to respond quickly to something where I don't have time to set up a forward staging area closer to the objective," he said.

AFSOC wants to improve the platform's reliability, maintainability, speed, range and lift, he noted.

"Reliability is in the near term," he said. "As we achieve our goals for reliability, the performance upgrades would follow over the course of the next few years."

Anderson was mum on details, but said AFSOC was investigating modifications to the platform's engine, as well as its aerodynamic thrust.

The command is currently in the process of upgrading the CV-22's radar system, Raytheon's APQ-186, with the company's APQ-187 which is known as Silent Knight.

The radar will include new, modern electronics that replace obsolete components that are difficult to acquire, he said.

"During cruise when I'm ingressing or egressing, the approved radar will allow me to do some things that I can't do today," he said.

In the science and technology community, work is being done to develop radar systems that can be used during brownout or whiteout conditions, Anderson said.

Some of these improvements include aircraft handling qualities such as inflight controls and autopilot modes.

Additionally, the command is researching how the aircraft can better relay information to pilots during such degraded conditions.

"Some of those things involve synthetic vision or symbology ... to improve the pilot's awareness," Anderson said. "Modern aircraft are generally very powerful computers that know a lot of things." The challenge becomes how the aircraft and the pilot can better collaborate.

AFSOC is also interested in adding new sensors to the aircraft, such as LiDAR and high frequency radar systems that can map the area immediately in front of an aircraft for better situational...