U.S. Air Force signs radar contract for more accurate air drops
NewsMarch 08, 2017
WALTHAM, Mass. QinetiQ North America (QNA) announces a $3 million contract win from the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) for its Wind Profiling Portable Radar (WiPPR) technology. The QinetiQ WiPPR, says the company, can offer the Air Force the near-real-time wind measurements that it needs to enable C-130 and C-17 air crews to airdrop critical supplies more accurately and quickly to U.S. ground forces in remote or difficult-to-access locations.
Under the contract, QNA will design and build a prototype airborne WiPPR unit -- based on QNA’s commercially available ground based WiPPR Wind-Profiling Portable Radar technology -- that the Air Force will use to demonstrate accurate wind measurement in near-real time.
Bob Polutchko, vice president of QNA’s Emerging Markets, says that radar wind measurement will allow airborne troops to execute “single-pass” precision resupply runs: “This capability will reduce the exposure of aircraft and air crews to enemy countermeasures.”
