U.S buys 10 FOD Finder XM-M systems to clear debris on military airflieds

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World Aviation Defense & Security News - United States
 
 
U.S buys 10 FOD Finder XM-M systems to clear debris on military airflieds
 
Trex Aviation Systems, Inc. yesterday announced the U.S. Government has purchased 10 FOD Finder XM-M units to be delivered to the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marines Air Stations located on the East Coast and West Coast. The FOD Finder XM-M was developed by Trex using millimeter-wave technology to detect and retrieve the foreign object debris (FOD) on airport surfaces.
     
US buys 10 FOD Finder XM M systems to clear debris on military airflieds 640 001 The U.S. Government Invests in the FOD Finder XM-M State-of-the-Art Technology to Clear Debris Off of Airways and Runways
(Credit: Trex Aviation Systems)
     
In addition to reducing runway closure time and increasing airport efficiency, FOD Finder XM-M has shown to effectively reduce the repair cost for FOD damages and improve the war-fighting readiness for our military.

"The FOD Finder XM-M has been tested and evaluated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for 18 months at various airports with a report of 100% detection capability at night, during the day in sun, rain, mist, fog, snow and sandstorms," said Dr. Kenneth Tang, Chairman & CEO of Trex Aviation Systems, Inc. "We are honored to have the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marines deploy our high-tech FOD Finder XM-M on their runways and airfields."

"Trex's FOD Finder XM-M is an outstanding asset to support military operations and improve the safety conditions at airports and airfields," said Derek Rose, Director and Vice President of Sales & Marketing of AERO Specialties, Inc., TAS FOD Finder distributor. "We believe this is ground-breaking technology and eventually will be used at airports worldwide. There is no other system like it."

The FOD Finder XM-M is approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for use at airport areas. TAS' FOD Finder has been tested and operated in the following airfields: Dyess Air Force Base in Texas, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona, Honolulu International Airport, Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Tianjin Binhai International Airport in China.

The TAS' FOD Finder XM-M is a fully integrated system which includes: a heavy duty pickup truck; a Trex FOD detection radar system; a Trex FOD vacuum retrieval system; an in-vehicle display with intuitive user interface; plus, data acquisition and storage. Trex's patented millimeter-wave radar does not interfere with airport and aircraft communication, navigation and surveillance systems. The proprietary millimeter-wave radar is capable of providing FOD detection in all weather conditions. The FOD Finder system operates up to 30 mph. The system can operate on different paved surface types (grooved or smooth asphalt and concrete) and will cover an entire airfield by a single FOD Finder system. The touch-screen control panel inside of the vehicle cab is designed for a turn-key operation by a single operator with minimal training required.

At the completion of an inspection, the FOD Finder XM-M provides immediate feedback of current airfield conditions to operations management and ground control through automated reporting and dissemination of information, resulting in expedited corrective actions and facilitating FAA required Part 139 reporting. Access to the FOD Finder XM-M database provides the necessary information and statistics for the identification of problem areas and accumulation over time in efforts to identity the sources of FOD and develop mitigation strategies.