Astronautics Corporation of America’s multifunction display system (MFDS) was onboard as the fifth of seven upgraded Agusta-Bell 212s (AB-212) was delivered to the Spanish Ministry of Defence.
The AB-212 helicopter’s avionics have been upgraded as part of a Helicopter Life Extension Program for the Spanish Navy by the multinational engineering and technology group SENER and Babcock España (formerly INAER).
Astronautics’ MFDS is a key part of this upgrade — consisting of four 6×8-inch electronic flight instruments and an engine data concentrator unit with mounting tray–enabling the aircraft to display primary flight, navigation, and engine information along with the capability to receive and display video from a wide variety of standards.
“Astronautics is proud to be a part of this important avionics upgrade enabling a fully-digital cockpit and new functionality that will extend the life of the Spanish Navy’s AB-212 fleet for at least another decade,” said Astronautics vice president of displays & cockpit integration Rich Anderson. “The MFDS is a highly-reliable, highly-compatible system that can meet the demanding environments in which these helicopters operate.”
The MFDS is part of Astronautics’ AFD 6800 family of flight displays, certified on a significant number of military transports and helicopters.
Astronautics was awarded the MFDS contract for seven shipsets in June of 2012. The first of the seven upgraded AB-212s was delivered to the Spanish Navy in December 2015.
To learn more about Astronautics’ electronic flight instruments and system capabilities, visit the company’s exhibit (stand C5854) during HAI Heli-Expo 2018.