Universal open-architecture avionics suite

Radioelectronic Technologies Concern is demonstrating an avionics suite for the upgraded Mil Mi-171А2 helicopter at MAKS 2013. Deputy General Director Strategic Planning and State Defence Order Andrey Tyulin says the need to upgrade the veteran Mi-8/17 family’s avionics was particularly pressing because such a solution would address several problems at once. Ulyanovsk Instrument Manufacturing Design Bureau (UIMDB) won a tender to implement the project; in late 2012, UIMDB became part of Radioelectronic Technologies.

"Ours was a comprehensive proposal to create the KBO-17 integrated navigation suite based on the latest domestic and international achievements in aircraft instrumentation technology," says Tyulin. In its current format, the KBO-17 provides for reliable and effective helicopter navigation, ensuring safety and regularity of round-the-clock operations in any weather and supporting two-pilot VFR/IFR transportation of passengers and freights in various geographical regions and climates. Safety of operations is significantly enhanced through the use of systems providing flight envelope warnings, detecting the direction and speed of wind at take-offs and landings, preventing controlled flight into obstacles (including power lines and masts), and enabling round-the-clock forward-, rearward-, and downward-looking situational awareness.