GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC
Canadian company building presence following last year's acquisition of Flight Visions
CMC Electronics' selection as avionics integrator for the armed export version of Korea Aerospace Industries' (KAI) KT-1 turboprop trainer has reinforced the company's position in the glass cockpit upgrade market.
The Canadian company was picked last year to develop a new cockpit for the Raytheon T-6 turboprop trainer, and CMC has submitted bids to the UK for the BAE Systems Hawk avionics replacement programme (HARP), says Bob Atac, vice-president, military aviation.
Ottawa-based CMC entered the market upon acquiring Flight Visions last year. The US company was already cockpit supplier for the Aero Vodochody L-159, Pilatus PC-9 and PZL-130 Orlik. "Flight Visions had a lot of success because of the high capability and low cost of its cockpits," says Atac. "CMC brought marketing muscle."
The cockpit for KAI's KT-1C export version will use the same building blocks, including the Sparrowhawk head-up display (HUD) and FV-4000 open-architecture mission computer.
Dual PowerPC-based computers will drive 150 x 200mm (6 x 8in) multifunction displays (MFD) for primary flight instrumentation, tactical information, moving map, stores management and engine monitoring (Flight International, 28 January-4 February).
CMC will establish a systems integration laboratory in Ottawa and supply a cockpit demonstrator to KAI in time for display at the Korea air show in Seoul in November.
"This is a pretty aggressive, 15- to 16-month programme," says Atac. The KT-1C will be a "capable aircraft," he says. Armament will include Raytheon AIM-9 short-range air-to-air missiles.
The UK's HARP would update the Royal Air Force's Hawk T1s with HUD and MFDs, and could be the key to upgrading Hawks operated by other countries.
"There are a lot of Hawks out there," says Atac. "And everywhere we look, we see a HUD requirement."
Source: Flight International
