Brown Out BeatenFebruary 1, 2012: The U.S. Army is equipping ten of its UH-60 helicopters in Afghanistan with a new 3-D radar. The HALS (Helicopter Autonomous Landing System) weighs 45 kg (99 pounds) and gives the pilots a 3-D picture of what's in front of the helicopter, no matter what actual visibility is. Snow, dust, sand, fog and night can all hide small obstacles (especially wires or poles) that can cause a crash as a helicopter is taking off or landing. In the last decade about 20 percent of army helicopters crashes have been caused by storms, because the pilots could not see obstacles. In Iraq, the most common danger was "brown out" (sand storm). Fog and, in Afghanistan, snow, only add to the problem. […]
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ELECTRONIC WEAPONS: Brown Out BeatenFrom Strategypage.com (SP)
