Together with our partner Dewhurst Airfield Services, S4GA has been awarded to supply National Police Air Support of the United Kingdom with a Solar Helipad Lighting Solution. The UK Police will benefit from using S4GA FATO (Final Approach and Takeoff) lighting, supporting police helicopter operations using VHF remote switching from the cockpit.
The National Police Air Service (NPAS) provides all police forces in England and Wales with air support. It is granted a Police Air Operators Certificate by the UK Civil Aviation Authority. The Unit assists front-line officers with crime investigations, anti-crime operations, traffic management, search and rescue, crime reduction initiatives, and tackling terrorism. For such important missions, helipad availability 24/7 is a must-have, as it is one of the critical systems necessary to provide safe flight operations during the nighttime.
In recent times the Unit struggled with unreliable helipad lighting, which could bring risk to its missions and actions. In a high need of new lighting solutions, the Police started to look for a dependable and reputable helipad lighting supplier, who will meet all of their requirements in terms of reliability and performance.
Coming across the Customer’s requirements, S4GA offered solar helipad lighting. The solution stands out with a highly reliable VHF remote light activation, proved by military units from around the world. The other features that pointed to S4GA as the best solution were easy deployment and transportation.
S4GA helipad lights chosen by UK Police had to be implemented on the soft, grassy ground. When installing a lighting unit on such a surface, there are a few issues to overcome. The main one includes grass overgrowing the light, reducing its visibility and working efficiency. However, mowing the grass around the lights can put it in danger of physical damage. Therefore, the main question for the customer was ” is there a way to avoid these problems?”. S4GA provided the solution for the issue, by installing lights on a heightened rubber pad. Elevated lights were mounted onto the soft ground using the rubber mat which prevents growth around light fixtures and helps when it comes to grass cutting around it – obviating damage to the light.
Equipped with infrared diodes, S4GA Solar Helipad Lights can support NVG (Night Google Vision) military operations. The activation of the NVG mode can be done remotely via S4GA Handheld Controller.
Moreover, the intensity of the light in NVG mode is adjustable and visibility reaches up to 3 km – ensuring the safety of any Night Google Vision military operation.
All the above features and specifications proved S4GA Solar Helipad Lights to be the best solution for police and military air operations and missions.
