The use of digital map data for airborne operations

Digital Databases are becoming a common feature in modern fighter aircraft. In the military they are being used for navigation, map displays, terrain displays for poor weather penetration, ground proximity warning, covert terrain following, electronic warfare threat intervisibility, weapon calculations, covert approaches and airborne mission planning. In the civil world they are being used to prevent Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) and can enhance situational awareness for approaches into airports in difficult terrain. This paper describes a number of these airborne applications which GEC Marconi Avionics have been associated with and describes the digital terrain system research that was undertaken by a GMAv/MoD joint funded programme called `Penetrate´ which has made a significant contribution to the safety of `Serious Low Flying´. The heart of the `Penetrate` system is a digital data store housing a three dimensional model of the terrain including cultural details. Obstructions and tactical intelligence information. `Penetrate´ incorporates Terrain Referenced Navigation to provide accurate position information relative to the ground contours. A sophisticated Digital Map displays navigation information and includes intelligence and intervisibility overlays. Head-up visual enhancement options are provided which can be tailored to the outside visibility. These comprise monochrome skeletal perspective displays which are superimposed on the outside world view and also on the Forward Looking Infra Red (FLIR) scene. The display enhancements range from obstruction cues through ridge line overlays to skeletal perspective terrain presentations