Provides Emulation and Test Functions for Airborne Weapons Suite

FN Herstal has launched the D-Pod TU test unit to complement its airborne digital suite for fixed forward-firing weapon systems, the company revealed on 1 October.

The suite already includes:

• the D-Pod (Digital Pod), featuring a .50 cal FN M3P machine gun and optional three 2.75in rocket launcher tubes;

• the advanced D-HUD (Digital Head Up Display) sighting solution;

• the D-PC (Pod Controller), acting as an Armament Management System for digital pods and rocket launchers.

The new D-Pod TU comprises three complementary modules:

• D-Pod EMU (Digital Pod Emulator) – as an integration tool, this fully emulates the behaviour of the pod and its weapons. It can be used in an electronic workshop, connected to any digital stores management system to perform initial integration testing, or plugged directly into the carrier pylon to check both aircraft wiring and communication between cockpit and weapon system. As a maintenance tool, it enables specific maintenance tasks to be conducted on the D-Pod LRUs;

• D-AMS EMU (Digital Armament Management System Emulator) – the main function is to emulate a stores management system. It can operate and ground fire, a D-Pod without an aircraft, to test the weapon system after a maintenance operation, for instance. Just like the D-Pod EMU, when installed in a carrier it can perform an integration on aircraft wiring and cockpit/weapon system communications;

• D-MNT APP (Digital Maintenance Application) – can be installed on any maintenance computer to which any digital product of FN Herstal’s fixed forward-firing solutions can be connected. This user-friendly application allows optimized system status checks, makes maintenance operations easier and faster for technicians, and enhances logistics and troubleshooting management of the entire system.

With this new addition to its airborne fixed forward-firing range of solutions, FN Herstal goes one step further in its commitment to providing one-stop shop service to its customers – both end users and OEMs – throughout the entire product life cycle.