Madrid. 28 November 2016. Airbus Defence and Space and Aeronautical & General Instruments (AGI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation on the integration of Airbus Deck Finder products into AGI’s ship based Visual Landing Aid Systems.

The companies have agreed to jointly market a system that will provide navies with the capability to operate both manned and unmanned air vehicles in challenging all-weather environments.
AGI’s Visual Landing Aids provide some of the world’s most advanced navies with sophisticated visual lighting systems to support manned aircraft operations to naval flight decks. Deck Finder is a radio-frequency, GPS-independent, high accuracy relative positioning system enabling the control of unmanned systems during take-off and landing periods.

The combination of the two systems represents a significant step forward in the extension of the maritime air operational envelope for both manned and unmanned operations.

“We are delighted to have come into this partnership with Airbus”, said Geof Eeles, CEO of AGI. “This brings together the world-class technologies of our two companies which will provide our customers with a unique opportunity to acquire the next generation maritime landing systems”.
“We see this partnership as an important step forward which allows our system to be seamlessly integrated into new and existing naval platforms around the world”, said Evert Dudok, Head of Communications, Intelligence & Security (CIS) business line at Airbus Defence and Space.

The MoU foresees a combined market ready product in the first half of 2017.