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AFRL team nominated for prestigious Collier Trophy

  • Published
  • By Holly Jordan
  • Air Force Research Laboratory
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  The Air Force Research Laboratory's Automatic Collision Avoidance Technology (ACAT) Fighter Risk Reduction Program (FRRP) team has been recently honored with a nomination for the National Aeronautic Association's Robert J. Collier Trophy to recognize its successful development and flight test of an Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto GCAS).

Auto GCAS is a lifesaving aircraft technology incorporates onboard digital terrain mapping data, a robust terrain scan pattern, and "time to avoid impact" algorithms to predict impending ground collisions and, at the last moment, execute avoidance maneuvers. The result is a system that automatically prevents controlled flight into terrain, the leading cause of all fighter aircraft mishaps.

By flight testing the Auto GCAS system across the entire F-16 envelope, in all terrain conditions, and to such extremes as 100 feet above ground level, the ACAT/FRRP team successfully proved the maturity of this technology, its ability to be nuisance-free, and its readiness for transition to operational fighter aircraft systems.

As a direct result of the ACAT/FRRP Team efforts and success, Auto GCAS is now transitioning to operational use in USAF F-16 and F-22, as well as the Joint Strike Fighter.

Auto GCAS offers unprecedented payoffs in terms of operator safety and aircraft retention. The 20-year projected payoffs from the implementation of Auto GCAS include savings of tens of billions of dollars and hundreds of lives and fighter aircraft.

The ACAT/FRRP team is composed of AFRL, Lockheed Martin, NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Air Force Flight Test Center, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense Personnel and Readiness.

The Collier Trophy, one of the most prestigious awards within the aerospace community, is granted annually "for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles, the value of which has been thoroughly demonstrated by actual use during the preceding year."

Some notable past recipients of the Collier Trophy include: Orville Wright, Howard Hughes, Chuck Yeager, Dick Rutan, and the crew of Apollo 11.

The winner of the Collier Trophy will be announced on March 15 at the NAA Spring Awards Luncheon, with the formal presentation of the award taking place May 5 at the 100th Anniversary Collier Dinner in Arlington, Va.