Inzpire (Hall 1 Stand B132) is showing off its GECO (graphical electronic cockpit organizer) mission support system here at Farnborough, having recently attained initial operational clearance (IOC) with the RAF’s upgraded Puma force. Full operational clearance is expected at the end of the year.
The Puma will join a growing roster of UK types using the system that includes the Apache, Tornado and Typhoon. The system has attracted considerable interest from overseas, notably in the Middle East where it has been flying in Jordanian F-16s and helicopters since 2013. RAF fast jets used it over Libya during the 2011 campaign.
GECO is an advanced tablet-based mission system. The rugged display has a high-definition anti-glare touchscreen that can be used with gloves, and the system is fully hardened to operate in a fast-jet environment. The tablet can be hand-held, worn as a kneepad, or incorporated into the aircraft’s cockpit, and is fully compatible with night vision goggles.
Using an app-based approach, GECO can be employed on a wide variety of mission-management and flight-planning functions. It can integrate GPS, digital mission/terrain maps, satellite imagery and hazard warnings, and can incorporate tactical data such as threat arrays and targeting imagery. The system also records missions for post-action debriefing. To aid flight and planning GECO can support checklists, performance-planning tools, and provide instant diversion information. In its squadron-level mission system incarnation, the tablet can be loaded with mission-relevant data through a planning computer before being taken to the aircraft.
Inzpire has envisioned a number of other uses for the GECO, such as a means of employing new weapons without the need for expensive and time-consuming integration and rewiring. Using Bluetooth technology, the GECO tablet could interface directly with the weapon. This has particular application for guided weapons that do not require a precise launch point.
Another application is as an adjunct to standard cockpit displays for targeting. The high resolution of the screen allows GECO to display sensor imagery in greater definition than is possible with some cockpit screens, in turn improving the ability of the pilot to positively identify targets in close support scenarios.
Inzpire is also suggesting that GECO could be a means of bringing LVC (live, virtual, construct) training into the cockpit, and that it could greatly enhance the aggressor mission by placing a full air picture into the cockpits of adversary aircraft that lack a radar capability.
