Telephonics has been awarded a contract to supply its TruLink wireless intercommunications system for integration on the South Korean Army’s Surion medical evacuation (Medevac) helicopters.
Awarded by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), it is the first time the South Korean military has ordered TruLink and will enable its medical teams to effectively communicate during critical, life-saving missions.
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Telephonics president and chief executive officer Joseph Battaglia said: "Telephonics looks forward to working closely with KAI and South Korea’s Medevac teams to enhance the clarity of communications in extremely high-noise environments, enabling them to more effectively administer care to patients in critical need.
"The reliability and versatility of this technology makes it ideal for use across a wide variety of applications and we are very pleased to bring this important capability to the South Korean military."
TruLink is a digital, wireless, voice intercommunication system designed to operate as a stand-alone solution to enable short-range communication between a group of users, or to provide a wireless extension to an existing wired intercom system.
The system eliminates the long cords that would typically tether helicopter crews to aircraft and enables intercommunications among all parties, including the patient, flight crew and hospital staff during ground or airborne missions.
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By GlobalDataIn addition, the system’s built-in ambient noise reduction feature for clear, intelligible communications in the high-noise environments often encountered during Medevac operations.
In August 2014, KAI was selected by the South Korean Government to manufacture Medevac helicopters at a cost of $31m.
The development will continue until 2016. Operational helicopters are scheduled to be delivered to soldiers the following year, the Yonhap News Agency reported.
Based on the army’s existing Surion aircraft, the Medevac versions will include advanced medical equipment such as a respirator, vital signs monitor, facilities for emergency surgery and an automated external defibrillator.
Scheduled to be used by a soon-to-be-established airborne medical evacuation unit, they can also be used to evacuate injured civilians during peacetime missions.
The company will deliver eight helicopters to the army, with more to follow in the future.
