Scott Nicholas
Textron subsidiary Beechcraft has selected a Northrop Grumman-built navigation technology as an “inertial product option” for the King Air turboprop aircraft series.
The LCR-100N, developed by Northrop unit LITEF, works to send navigation data to an autopilot system and helps aircraft to navigate in extreme latitudes and coast through satellite outages when used in conjunction with a flight management system, Northrop said Wednesday.
Beechcraft seeks to initially integrate the navigator into the King Air platform’s special mission variant.
Eckehardt Keip, managing director of Northrop Grumman LITEF, said the partnership supports the company’s efforts to deliver technology for the general aviation sector.
The LCR-100N includes gyrocompassing and hybrid navigation functions designed to comply with “required navigation performance” standards.
LITEF developed the unit as part of its portfolio of LCR-100 fiber-optic gyroscope-based inertial measurement units and microelectromechanical system triad accelerometers, Northrop noted.
