Collins Aerospace has been awarded an $80 million contract to upgrade the avionics system of U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters for the H-60M MOSA Avionics Architecture Solution program.
The upgrade will incorporate Collins’ Mosarc system, a suite of Modular Open Systems Approach-compliant products designed to streamline technology integration for a complex and rapidly evolving battlefield. This will enable soldiers to quickly update avionics technology in real-time, a release stated.
“Mosarc will provide U.S. Army Black Hawk cockpits with an open systems architecture, enabling swift integration of new capabilities to keep pace with modern operational demands,” said Jenny Miller, vice president and general manager of Military Avionics and Helicopters at Collins Aerospace. “Not only is the system’s interoperability vital for joint and coalition operations, but Mosarc will also allow the rapid deployment of technology to respond in quickly changing environments and help keep these aircraft relevant for decades to come.”
The system will make upgrades more efficient and reduce sustainment costs over the helicopter’s life cycle, the release stated. By implementing Mosarc into Black Hawks, Collins aims to establish commonality across the Army’s existing and future fleet of manned and unmanned aircraft.
Work on this contract will be conducted in Cedar Rapids and Huntsville, Alabama.
Collins receives production approval for MAPS GEN II
Last week, Collins Aerospace announced it has received approval for Full Rate Production of the Mounted Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing Generation II system.
Following its fifth delivery order of the advanced, jam-and-spoof-resistant navigation solution, Collins will manufacture thousands of MAPS units for installation on U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps combat ground vehicles, including military watercraft. MAPS integrates sensor data, combining satellite navigation signals with secured positioning, navigation, and timing data for both crewed and uncrewed ground vehicles.
“Through close coordination with our customer, we’ve met the modernized fielding requirements for MAPS while reducing production costs,” said Sandy Brown, vice president and general manager for Resilient Navigation Solutions, Collins Aerospace. “MAPS GEN II is a critical part of the DOD’s modernization goals and will provide the warfighter with trusted access to Assured PNT when they need it most.”
The system is comprised of Collins’ NavHub-100 navigation system and Multi-Sensor Antenna System, supporting a range of military operations including combat, artillery fires, air and missile defense, ship-to-shore and contested logistics. Collins also offers additional scalable configurations, the release stated.
Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of RTX, provides integrated and intelligent solutions for the global aerospace and defense industry. The company has 80,000 employees worldwide, including an estimated 9,000 in Iowa.
