hales announced today that it has been working on significant functional enhancements on its TopDeck avionics suite in order to anticipate operators requests, which will contribute to further improving the helicopter’s performance.

Previously selected by Sikorsky to equip the new version of it’s S-76D commercial helicopter with the TopDeck avionics suite, Thales is now enhancing its functional content with a new software version to meet the anticipated needs of prospective customers.

Thales TopDeck avionics suite will now offer new functionalities such as LPV (Localiser Performance with Vertical guidance), XM Weather (on-screen satellite weather services),FFS (Flight Following System) and ADS-B out (Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast, transmission from aircraft to ground stations). Sikorsky customers will be offeredthese capabilities as options.

This new standard involves enhancements to the iFMS 200 flight management system, the TopStar 200 GPS receiver and the Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS) to ensure compatibility with new GPS SBAS (Satellite-Based Augmentation System) precision approaches.

Yves Joannic, Vice President in charge of Thales’s helicopter activities, comments: “With these new functions, the S-76D TopDeck avionics suite is a perfect fit with the operational requirements of Sikorsky’s customers. And with the Icube-S concept*, Thales has shown that an integrated avionics suite can accommodate new functionality and safety features with no impact on the helicopter’s intrinsic performance.”

These enhancements will not increase the weight of the helicopter or have any negative impact on the helicopter payload’s capacity, whilst at the same time increasing pilot’s safety.

Sikorsky’s new S-76D helicopter is due to complete certification by the end of 2011. Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX)

Thales is present at Heli-Expo event on booth #4038.