Avionics manufacturer FreeFlight Systems has introduced an upgrade to its RA-4000 and RA-4500 radar altimeter that the company says offers a 5G mitigation solution. Like many other brands of currently installed radar altimeters, these older models are vulnerable to strong C-Band 5G RF interference from new-generation cell-phone frequencies.
"Our RA-4000 and RA-4500 units are currently safely supporting flight operations on over 5,000 aircraft worldwide,” said FreeFlight Systems’ president Anthony Rios. “However, having foreseen the potential deployment of C-Band 5G in 2019, we understood that our customers would need a robust, clean-sheet-designed radar altimeter that would be tolerant to C-Band 5G while being simple to install and cost-effective to upgrade from existing radar altimeters.”
The new RA-4500 MK II radar altimeter is a “simple drop-in replacement that uses the existing wiring, structural, and antenna provisions already on the aircraft,” said Rios. “This ensures operators can quickly address the risk of 5G interference and [compliance with] FAA ADs with no modifications to existing aircraft provisions.”
FreeFlight Systems reserved limited quantities for customers who place orders this week during HAI Heli-Expo in Dallas.