Assessment of Ship Landing Assist System in Maritime Helicopter Operation

In maritime helicopter operation, approaching to a sailing ship and landing on a small flight deck is the most demanding task facing a pilot in a low visibility situation, such as heavy rain or snow, haze, no light at night. The ship landing assist system (SLAS) that was developed and evaluated during flight tests of XSH-60K from 2002 through 2004 is a great aid to the pilot, providing an auto approach and landing capabilities under a 100m visibility situation. The systems have been equipped by 50 or more maritime patrol helicopters SH-60K, and used for over 10 years in Japan. This paper describes an outline of SLAS and an assessment of the system in maritime helicopter operation.