RSAF Received New Airborne Early Warning Aircraft
Friday, 20th February 2009
The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) received its first of the four Gulfstream 550 Airborne Early Warning (G550-AEW) aircraft at Tengah Air Base this evening. Chief of Air Force, Major-General Ng Chee Khern, officiated at the homecoming ceremony. The RSAF has acquired a total of four G550-AEW aircraft to replace its ageing E-2C Hawkeye aircraft which have served the Air Force well for more than 20 years. Equipped with a sophisticated mission suite that includes an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, the G550-AEW aircraft is able to detect, identify and track aerial targets. The G550-AEW aircraft has a longer detection range (200 nautical miles) than the E-2C Hawkeye.
One of the main feature onboard the G550 was its PlaneVie® cockpit. A unique interpretation of Honeywell's Primus Epic architecture and display system, the G550's PlaneView cockpit features an integrated avionics suite with four 14-inch (36 cm) liquid crystal displays. The new system provides essential flight information to the pilots on displays that are considerably larger than those on competing avionics systems. Not only do they reduce the pilots' workload, they also improve the level of situational awareness on the flight deck.
The PlaneView cockpit also allow its pilots with a fully synchronous triple Flight Management System (FMS). By using the Gulfstream Signature Cursor Control Device (CCD), pilots can interact with the FMS and the navigation map that displays the flight plan along with surrounding terrain, airways, airports, navigational aids and radar data.
Another new technological feature involved the latest in Head-Up Display (HUD) technology. Using LCD technology for unprecedented image clarity, the HUD displays flight information and guidance cues on the optical combiner in the pilot's forward field of view. This eliminates the need for pilots to divert their attention from outside the cockpit to the instrument panel while in flight.
Update October 2011: The last of the four Gulfstream 550 Airborne arrived.