Ground Collision Avoidance System ‘Saves’ First F-16

[SteveC]

Aviation Week Article:

LOS ANGELES – A U.S. Air Force F-16C believed to be taking part in combat operations against Islamic State (ISIS) forces in Syria has become the first to be officially ‘saved’ from certain impact with the ground by the recently fielded Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto GCAS).
Details of the incident, believed to have involved an Air Force F-16 operating from Jordan during a air-to-surface attack last Nov. 10, remain unconfirmed. But the Air Force does acknowledge the system saved an aircraft and its pilot. Auto GCAS, which was developed by Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and NASA, has only recently been integrated in to the USAF Block 40/50 fleet by Lockheed Martin’s Integrated Fighter Group. Installation in the Air Force fleet began last September as part of the latest M6.2+ Operational Flight Program (OFP) software update.

The system protects pilots by taking temporary command of the aircraft and executing an automatic recovery maneuver when it detects that an impact with terrain is imminent. The system constantly compares the trajectory of the F-16 with a terrain profile generated from onboard digital terrain elevation data (DTED). If the system detects a threat, an evasion command is issued. If no action is immediately taken by the pilot, the system automatically assumes control (AW&ST, Aug 2, 2010, p. 50). The recovery includes an abrupt roll-to-upright followed by a 5g pull until clearance of the terrain is assured. Auto GCAS can also be overridden by the pilot at any time. The system incorporates a "Pilot Activated Recovery System" (PARS) function which provides a disoriented pilot with a way to manually engage an automated recovery.

The early save of an aircraft using the system so soon after fleet installation is an important milestone for the long-running Auto GCAS effort, which aims to reduce losses from controlled flight into terrain by up to 90%. According to the Air Force, 26% of aircraft losses and 75% of all F-16 fatalities are caused by such accidents. Based on historic accident rates, the Air Force predicts Auto GCAS has the potential to save 10 lives, up to 14 aircraft and $530 million over the projected remaining service life of the U.S. F-16 fleet. The system, which completed research and development under Air Combat Command’s (ACC) Fighter Risk Reduction Program in 2010, built on several earlier ground collision research efforts extending back over a decade.

More than 440 of the 631 later-build F-16s have now been fitted with Auto GCAS. Most of the remaining fleet still awaiting retrofit is at Luke AFB, Arizona, where modifications are expected to be completed pending the upgrade of the aircraft’s flight control computers with new processors. A system for earlier production Block 30 F-16s with non-digital flight control computers has also been proposed, and an AFRL-funded flight test effort is scheduled to begin early this year. The system is aimed initially at the U.S. Block 30 fleet. But to reduce costs, flight tests are planned on an aircraft configured to the similar EPAF (European Participating Air Forces) midlife update OFP standard developed between the U.S., Belgium, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands.

 

[msmspilot]

Interesting. I remember discussion of a system like that for fighter aircraft in the late 90s. Glad it actually did what it was supposed to do.

 

[Screaming_Emu]

GPWS has been berry berry good...to me.

#storyoverbeer

 

[killbilly]

I always thought "Ground Collision Avoidance System" was a euphemism for "Pilot."

(I keed, I keed)

 

[MikeD]

The PAARS system mentioned started in the F-117 in the very early 90s. The Pilot Activated Automatic Recovery System. Wasn't an automated system, but was the technology prior to what's described here with Auto GCAS in the automation realm when it comes to these.
When the PAARS button was depressed on the stick, the autopilot and autothrottles engaged (if off), the aircraft recovered itself to the horizon via the closest means available, rolled wings level upright, and established a 5 degree nose-up at 250 knots. Only problem was that in finding the quickest way to the horizon, it didn't know the difference between positive and negative Gs.

The system was born of a couple of accidents we had in the jet that were attributed to spatial-D. The 117 was VERY easy to get spatial-D in, since the cockpit was so sealed well, there was no "wind rush" or other aural cues of airspeed.......60 knots sounded like 600 knots. This caused a problem when as the pilot flying, I spent most of my time heads-down in the IRDS display searching for my target and heavily depended on the autopilot to be doing the flying. Visual lookout was kind of a joke, as there wasn't time to and the plane had crappy viz anyway except for out the sides; but then in combat, that didn't matter (though I certainly wasn't maintaining any reasonable see and avoid while VMC in stateside airspace...kind of unsafe in that way). The IRDS did have a small mini-HUD like display in the corner of it that showed aircraft attitude only, but we usually decluttered that since there was already a ton of targeting information we needed to be looking at. The jet really did need a WSO onboard.

 

[deadstick]

GPWS has been berry berry good...to me.

#storyoverbeer

So you watch Strawberry Shortcake? I have an excuse for knowing that...a 5 y/o daughter. What's yours?

 

[Old Pete]

Strawberry shortcake? Try Chico escuela SNL

 

[killbilly]

Strawberry shortcake? Try Chico escuela SNL

Sadly, I got it, and shook my head when I realized that he had an entirely DIFFERENT cultural reference to it.

This getting old stuff sucks.