uAvionix Corporation announced that, for the second time in as many quarters, it has certified a micro-transponder with the Department of Defense (DoD) Air Traffic Control Radar Beacon System Identification Friend or Foe Program Office (AIMS PO).
The RT-2087/ZPX-A, now certified in accordance with the AIMS 17-1000 performance specification, enables small DoD aircraft to cooperatively participate in National Airspaces worldwide with civil transponder Modes 3/A, C, S, and Extended Squitter (ES) ADS-B OUT. This holds true for many unmanned and manned aerial platforms, but especially small UAVs.
Weighing only 50 grams and with a complete footprint roughly 2/3rd the size of a business card, the ZPX-A delivers 200 watts of transmit power while only drawing an average of 1.5 watts from the aircraft’s power
truFYX-EXT GPS
supply. The ZPX-A profile is small enough and light enough to be fitted into Group 1 or 2 UAV, making possible longer flight times and larger payloads with minimal energy consumption.
When paired with truFYX, uAvionix’s SBAS GPS, ZPX-A is well-suited for operation in controlled airspace, delivering safe separation information to Air Traffic Control (ATC), Traffic Collision Avoidance Systems (TCAS), and Detect and Avoid (DAA) systems.
ZPX-A takes advantage of its heritage from the recently FAA TSO-certified ping200X, which combines a Mode A, C, S Transponder, ADS-B OUT, and an altitude encoder into a single module certified to the following TSOs:
- TSO-C112e (Mode S Transponder)
- TSO-C166b (ADS-B OUT Extended Squitter)
- TSO-C88b (altitude encoder)
In March, uAvionix announced AIMS Mk XIIB certification of its first Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) transponder, the RT-2087/ZPX-B. With this certification, ZPX-B became the world’s smallest, certified micro-IFF transponder, reducing Size, Weight, and Power Consumption (SWaP) of typical IFF transponders by more than 90%, and at less than half the size, one-third the weight, and one fourth the power consumption of other Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) IFF solutions. Incorporation of IFF technology into small, tactical, and attritable platforms allows them full participation into the cross-troop, cross-service, and cross-nation collaboration and situational awareness that prevents fratricide.
The ZPX-B was certified in partnership with R Cubed Engineering (R3E) under Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) sponsorship from the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy.
Source: Press Release