Flight test results of ladar brownout look-through capability

Abstract

The paper discusses recent results of flight tests performed with the Airbus Defence and Space ladar system at Yuma Proving Grounds. The ladar under test was the SferiSense® system which is in operational use as an in-flight obstacle warning and avoidance system on the NH90 transport helicopter. Just minor modifications were done on the sensor firmware to optimize its performance in brownout. Also a new filtering algorithm fitted to segment dust artefacts out of the collected 3D data in real-time was employed. The results proved that this ladar sensor is capable to detect obstacles through brownout dust clouds with a depth extending up to 300 meters from the landing helicopter.