Intercommunication system aims to reduce costs, ease aviation integration

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. –  Army engineers are designing and fabricating a mobile communication test console with a UH-60 digital intercommunication system. 

The purpose of the UH-60 digital intercommunication system is to ease the integration of test radios in both lab and operational environments for evaluation on aviation platforms, said Christine Adelfio-Keehn, computer engineer with the Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center. Because integration procedures and flight times are costly, the system is designed to ease the installation and removal of components. 

The UH-60 digital intercommunication system supports both digital and analog radio systems and will allow testers to examine antenna performance along with system performance for Wideband Networking Waveform, Soldier Radio Waveform and Mobile User Objective System radios. 

The work on the intercommunication system is in support of Program Executive Office Aviation - PM Aviation Mission Equipment.  Recently, the system has been bench tested in a laboratory environment within the Aviation Antenna & Integration Team, located at CERDEC Flight Activity’s Hangar 5, at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.

Once a full scale laboratory test is concluded, there are future plans to install the system on a CERDEC Flight Activity UH-60 Blackhawk for airborne operational testing.