WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. – April 18, 2022 – The UH-60V Black Hawk helicopter, enabled by the Northrop Grumman Corporation-developed (NYSE: NOC) OpenLift architecture, has been granted an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) Airworthiness Release by the U.S. Army Systems Readiness Directorate. This will allow pilots to fly the UH-60V under all meteorological conditions.
“Achieving IFR airworthiness is a major milestone for the UH-60V with Northrop Grumman OpenLift.,” said Lindsay McEwen, vice president, navigation, targeting and survivability, Northrop Grumman. “The UH-60V Black Hawk Aircrews can now experience the unique capabilities of this open architecture aircraft under all-weather conditions.”
The UH-60V with OpenLift upgrades current UH-60L Black Hawk aircraft, replacing the legacy cockpit with a fully open, digital and integrated avionics package. The pilot-vehicle interface is nearly identical to that of the UH-60M Black Hawk, enabling common training and operational employment.
Open, safe and secure, the UH-60V Black Hawk has achieved airworthiness for its multicore processor – a first for an U.S Army Black Hawk helicopter. This allows the flight-critical systems to be separated safely from the mission software and enables the use of third-party applications.
Northrop Grumman OpenLift has been flight demonstrated on the Boeing AH-64E Apache and can be extended to other aircraft of the Enduring Fleet, as well as to the planned aircraft of Future Vertical Lift. It is currently exportable for the Sikorsky Black Hawk and other platforms.
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