New runway lights visible only with NVGsBy James Hannah - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Oct 5, 2007 7:19:34 EDT
DAYTON, Ohio — As the pilots of a C-130 transport plane and a Huey helicopter were preparing for a night landing on a dirt airstrip, they were able to spot the runway lights from 15 miles away — but only they could see them.
The portable lights were in covert mode, visible only to those wearing night-vision goggles.
The landing exercises at Fort McCoy, Wis., were designed to test the prototype lights developed by researchers at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
“It went beautifully,” said Sharon Dixon, a psychologist at Wright-Patterson who evaluated the effectiveness and safety of the system.
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The new runway lights were designed to help guide military aircraft in countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan, where quickly established runways may be short, unpaved and in hostile territory.
A handful of researchers spent three years developing the $850,000 system. They are currently shopping the system among the military branches to see who can use it.
Rest of article at:
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/10/ap_runwaylights_071005/