Northrop Grumman announced in a press release earlier this month that its flight-critical inertial instruments will soon be offered on Beechcraft King Air turboprops.
Beechcraft chose Northrop’s LCR-100N hybrid navigation unit as an inertial product option for the King Air turboprop platform. The unit provides LCR-100N provides critical navigation data to the autopilot, extended navigation capability in extreme latitudes, coasting capability and other key features that assist precision. The LCR-100N will be certified and applied first to the Special Mission aircraft within the King Air series.
“We are pleased to provide our reliable inertial navigation solution for this leading platform in the twin turboprop segment and to expand our relationship with Textron Aviation,” said Eckehardt Keip, managing director, Northrop Grumman LITEF. “The selection of our LCR-100N for this important program reflects our pledge to bring high-performing technology to the general aviation market.”
Developed by Northrop Grumman’s Germany-based navigation systems subsidiary, Northrop Grumman LITEF, the LCR-100N is part of the LCR-100 product family and consists of high-performance, fibre-optic gyroscope-based inertial measurement units and advanced microelectromechanical system triad accelerometers.
The unit features gyro-compassing and hybrid navigation, including ARINC outputs, which are essential for Required Navigation Performance flight operations. The LCR-100N, in combination with the flight management system, supports operations in extreme northern and southern latitudes and allows for coasting through satellite outages.
Northrop Grumman, a global security company provides innovative systems, products and solutions in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, strike, and logistics and modernization to government and commercial customers worldwide. The company website is www.northropgrumman.com.