Airbus has selected Collins Aerospace to provide its Pro Line Fusion touchscreen flight deck for the C295. The first application is the variant of the versatile airlifter being supplied to the Royal Canadian Air Force to answer its Fixed-Wing Search and Rescue (FWSAR) requirement. Military certification was achieved last month, with civil approval to follow shortly.
The new flight deck is designed to assist crews undertaking search and rescue (SAR), intelligence/surveillance/reconnaissance (ISR), and tactical transport missions. The night vision goggle-compatible avionics features four 14.1-inch touchscreen displays and head-up displays for both pilots. The head-up displays include enhanced vision system imagery supplied by a camera/sensor system forward of the windscreen. The avionics displays can also present overlaid weather radar information.
The integrated flight management system supports the SAR mission by being able to generate search patterns and computed air-release points for the air-dropping of SAR kits and parachute jumpers. The Pro Line Fusion system is also fully compatible with future air traffic requirements.
The FWSAR requirement has also driven a range of other improvements—some of which have already been implemented—being introduced in the aircraft to produce what Airbus calls the “new C295.” Already standard on production aircraft are range-increasing winglets.
For ISR- and special mission-tasked aircraft a new generation of Fully Integrated Tactical System (FITS) is being introduced, with two 24-inch high-definition displays for the cabin operator consoles. The first aircraft with the new FITS have been delivered to Brazil and another customer, which has not been named.
Other new features of the FWSAR aircraft are a gravel deflector on the nosewheel strut, improved ditching characteristics with a strengthened rear lower fuselage and forward cabin upper hatch, and 50 percent more electric power for ISR equipment. The cabin has been enhanced with wireless intercom and an optimized layout that redesigns a number of systems that previously intruded into the cargo space.