Page 87 - North Atlantic and Nordic Defense

North European and North Atlantic Defense: The Challenges Return

Figure 28 The Cyclone at sea onboard a Halifax frigate in high seas. Credit: Sikorsky

The high sea state environment was a calibration made from calculations of deck accelerations.

The helicopter also had to fit within the Canadian concepts of operations, whereby the crew could multi-task
while in flight, without a need to return to the ship to reconfigure for changing missions.

The new helicopter is built on a commercial S-92 foundation but the defense customizations fit where 21st
century technology was going, namely an information, communications and decision making transformation.

And the work flow onboard the helicopter very much fits into what the Block 3 upgrade to Aurora provides
along with the P-8 — the front end and back end of the aircraft shape a workflow for the entire flight and
work crew. Screens in the cockpit of both the Cyclone and the Aurora bring the data in the back forward to
the cockpit.

A work in progress is to determine exactly who does what, but SA for Search and Rescue is now available to
the front end of the aircraft which obviously allows for better decision-making and outcomes with regard to
the new helicopter.

What the helicopter will connect to in terms of information flow is a work in progress, but the platform is
coming to the force PRECISELY when the entire maritime domain awareness and strike enterprise in the North
Atlantic is being reworked, and this helicopter has the information tools to both contribute to and leverage the
new approaches being shaped.

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