Landing System Ready for Take Off

[unhappycamper]

Landing System Ready for Take Off
May 01, 2008
Air Force Print News|by Chuck Paone

HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. - After many years of technology refinement, the Electronic Systems Center-led land-based increment of the Joint Precision Approach and Landing System is poised to progress to the system development and demonstration phase.

Known as JPALS, the system uses the Global Positioning System, or GPS, to enable accurate and reliable landing guidance for approaches, including those conducted in low-visibility conditions. It is, in fact, designed to provide precision approach and landing for all the military services in any weather and for virtually any mission, according to 1st Lt. Patrick Ris of the 853rd Electronic Systems Group. He is the ESC deputy program manager.

The Navy is the Defense Department's lead service for the joint program, and because of its specific needs, the sea service has fully funded and moved its maritime-based increment of the program forward. Now the Air Force seems ready to do the same, according to Brian Pierce, a contractor supporting the program.

"The technology is ready, and users are beginning to see all the advantages," Mr. Pierce said.

Those advantages include equipment and cost reductions. JPALS requires only one ground station per airfield, whereas the instrument landing system, which is now predominantly used, requires one ground station at each end of every runway on an airfield. The one JPALS ground station also may cover all other airfields within a 20 nautical mile radius.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/news/article/air-force-news/landing-system-ready-for-take-off.html



uhc comment: If I'm reading this correctly, we've spent only $3,269,000,000 on JPALS thru 2005 --> http://131.84.1.34/descriptivesum/Y2005/Army/0305114A.pdf