Flight Termination System FTS

AERTEC has designed and developed a Flight Termination System (FTS) for RPAS. The FTS is composed of an air and ground segment (FTS-Air and FTS-Ground). The FTS-Air is the onboard segment in charge of recovering the normal flight attitude of the RPAS and in charge of monitoring the FMS status via its own datalink. The actions are commanded by the FTSGround segment which works independently from the RPAS Ground Control Station (GCS).

The FTS provides the RPAS with a high reliable and safe operation by using a datalink network, which enables the GCS to locate the RPAS even if the FMS fails. In addition, the communication between the FTS-Ground and FTSAir are encrypted to avoid any FTS-Air activation due to electromagnetic interferences.

Key features:

• Air equipment and ground console
• Independent from the rest of the systems
• Autopilot status monitoring and report
• STM32 microcontroller
• Battery backup in FTS-Air and FTS-Ground
• Visible RSSI status with leds

Communications:

• Independent DataLink
• RS232/TTL selectable communication interface
• Codified communications between FTS-Air/FTS Ground

Flight Termination capabilities:

• Two selection modes:
  • Parachute Deployment
  • Aerodynamic Termination
• Flight termination feedback report