TERPROM (terrain profile matching) is a military navigation Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) employed on aircraft and missiles, which uses stored digital elevation data combined with navigation system and radar altimeter inputs to compute the ___location of an aircraft or missile above the surface of the Earth. It is also used as a warning system to prevent aircraft from flying too close to the ground. The acronym TERPROM has become a trademark in its own right.[citation needed]
TERPROM was initially conceived in 1977 within the Bristol-based Guided Weapons New Projects Office of British Aerospace as a private venture project. The private venture status continued until the mid-1980s. British Aerospace later received a MoD funded contract to advise the Government on the development options and applications of tactical cruise missiles. [citation needed]
TERPROM utilises Terrain Referenced Navigation to provide aircraft with a Predictive Ground Collision Avoidance System (PGCAS) as well as Obstruction Warning and Cueing (OWC)
TERPROM is produced by Atlantic Inertial Systems, Plymouth, UK, formerly a subsidiary of BAE Systems, acquired in December 2009 by Goodrich Corporation, itself bought by United Technologies Corporation in 2012 branded as Collins Aerospace.[1] As of 2020, the company merged with Raytheon to become Raytheon Technologies (RTX).
TERPROM has been fitted, and used operationally, on the following platforms:
- F-16, Mirage 2000, Harrier, SEPECAT Jaguar, Panavia Tornado, A-10, Eurofighter Typhoon, BAE Hawk, C-130 and C-17 aircraft
- Storm Shadow cruise missile, although Storm Shadow uses a different form of Terrain Profile Matching navigation and terrain avoidance system, developed by MBDA from the flight-proven TERPROM design and development by British Aerospace at Bristol.[citation needed]
Customised versions are available for fixed wing fast jet, fixed wing transport, rotary wing and missile platforms.
References
edit- ^ "Guidance Navigation Control". Collins Aerospace.