Air Force Research Laboratory officials believe they can enable air mobility aircraft to land in any weather (fog, rain, snow, or blowing sand) condition without ground-based navigation aids. AFRL is working on two “high-priority” programs: with BAE on the Autonomous Approach and Landing Capability and Boeing on the Opportune Landing System. The AALC will provide clear images of the approach via sensor-based, head-up display that uses imaging radar and near real-time video. The OLS contribution will be to analyze satellite imagery to assess an austere area’s suitability—dimension, flatness, and obstructions—for a landing. Officials plan to flight test the AALC with its present two-dimensional radar between October 2006 and February 2007 and a 3-D-view capability in 2007. They expect to transition the technology, which Douglas Zimmer, an AFRL deputy program manager, calls “a true game changer,” to AMC by 2010.
Secretary of Defense Austin Lloyd III met with his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the Philippines to discuss bolstering defense ties on May 2. The discussion included plans for joint F-35 exercises with Japan and Australia in the coming years.