SEXTANT AVIONIQUE has signed a contract with Polish aircraft manufacturer PZL-Mielec to provide an avionics package for the Iryda jet trainer (Flight International, 24-30 April).
The contract, to upgrade 11 aircraft and equip six new ones, was signed on 26 April, and will be completed by the end of 1997. Sextant says that it will provide complete navigation/attack systems for the aircraft.
The package includes a smart head-up display (SHUD), equipped with a central system control keyboard and a Totem laser gyro inertial-navigation system, with integrated global-positioning receiver. An SMD 54 multi-function liquid-crystal display, a UMPT 30 air-data unit with associated sensors, and a set of standby instruments are also included.
The package forms a key part of an upgrade programme for the troubled aircraft, grounded since an accident in January, which the Polish air force attributed to a technical fault. The air force openly criticises the Iryda for failing to meet requirements.
Source: Flight International
