Jay Clemens
Orbital ATK has received a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a helicopter protection system the company designed to help protect helicopters from airborne threats.
The Helicopter Active Protection System works to detect and identify threats, launch a kill vehicle to a set location and detonate a warhead, Orbital ATK said Thursday.
“Orbital ATK is dedicated to maturing the development of this first-of-a-kind active protection system for helicopters and to put it into the hands of our armed forces,†said Cary Ralston, vice president and general manager of Orbital ATK’s defense electronic systems division.
“Using advanced technologies to help protect our armed forces is a key focus for our company.”
According to the company, HAPS’Â core component is the kill vehicle built to launch and perform pitch maneuvers as it flies to a detonation point.
Orbital ATK says it has completed a live-fire test on those functions.
