Heat Resistant Visual Landing Aid (VLA) Lighting Fixtures for Ship Flight Decks and Expeditionary Air Field (EAF) Matting

Visual Landing Aids on air capable ships and aircraft carrier flight decks are required for night and/or low visibility aircraft operations for general lighting, navigation, flight deck, and special purposes. Future aircraft are expected to have hotter exhaust that could threaten the integrity of these lighting fixtures. During Phase 1, two conceptual LED illumination designs were developed and virtually integrated into the existing Tramline housing. Thermal analysis, which included electrical thermal loads, showed that the LED's junction temperature was below the requirement defined by MIL-STD-16377 in ambient operations and below the LED's failure point when exposed to aircraft exhaust. The Phase 2 goal will be to complete system development and validate performance of an LED sourced Centerline/Tramline light system for both carriers and LHA/LHD type ships. Detailed design will be completed and a sufficient number of prototypes will be built to demonstrate functionality. Environmental and EMI test will be done to validate performance. During the development process, product improvements and cost reduction changes in the design will be made as improvements and cost reduction changes in the design will be made as necessary. At the end of the project, startup and recurring costs will be presented to the Navy for consideration as a viable product to be transitioned into the fleet.