Oxley Developments has secured a contract to supply suites of their External Dual Mode (visible and covert) LED lights and control units for the Agusta Bell 212 helicopters that are currently in service with the Spanish Air Force.
The customer, Aerlyper required a suite of advanced, reliable external lighting products that were able to perform in the harsh military environment that the 212’s operate in.
Oxley were able to satisfy the majority of the technical requirements using existing COTS products that are already proven in service on other platforms, but also showed a commitment to producing an appropriate solution to meet the needs of the customer by developing a bespoke lighting control panel and NVIS compatible formation lights.
The IR technology enables the pilot to operate the aircraft confidently using night vision goggles when undertaking covert operations.
The lighting suite employs state of the art LED technology and electronics, resulting in a highly reliable and durable product which has been packaged into a compact size to ensure weight and therefore fuel savings for the aircraft.
It is also a fit and forget solution thereby providing through life cost savings in terms of spares and maintenance. The prototype kit is due to be delivered to the customer in March 2012 with the production kits and spares following in June 2012.
The Dual Mode External Lighting Suite from Oxley is suitable for retrofit to all military helicopters, whilst the NVIS Friendly Visible External Lighting Suite would also be entirely appropriate for retrofit to all commercial helicopters, particularly those involved in SAR operations.