OPLS: Obstacle Proximity LiDAR System

What it is

OPLS gives visual and audio obstacle-distance awareness while hovering or in low-speed flight. Three LiDAR (Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) units are mounted around the transmission cowling below the rotor head; their three overlapping beams are digitally mixed to produce 360° obstacle coverage — but only in the plane of the sensor units. Nothing above or below that plane is detected.

Controlled from a dedicated OPLS page on the EDCU (Home → KITS → MIS tab → OPLS tab): POWER, MAINT, MUTE, INFO buttons, plus a status indicator. Displayed on the MFD as a plan-view polar grid of the obstacle profile around the helicopter, selected via the cursor control device (VIDEO → OPLS) or the MFD's T4 top bezel key.

Color and sound

The nearest obstacle's distance is shown as a color-coded radial line with the range at the top of the display: green (safe), yellow (caution), red (critical). An audio tone in the intercom rises in frequency as distance decreases. Crossing green into yellow triggers “APPROACHING”; crossing yellow into red triggers “CHECK DISTANCE.”

MUTE only works from the yellow band — selecting it while in green or red does nothing. Once muted, deselect MUTE (EDCU OPLS page, or CAS RST on the collective) to bring the audio back.

Limitations

OPLS is a hover/low-speed obstacle awareness aid only — the primary means of avoiding obstacles remains see-and-avoid technique. It may not detect large glass surfaces, and fog, mist, rain, cloud or snow can generate spurious signals or degrade the distance information. If an HTAWS aural alert and an OPLS aural alert occur together, HTAWS has priority and the OPLS aural can be suppressed.

Failure

On a system failure, the obstacle display is replaced by a red cross, the audio deactivates, and the EDCU OPLS page shows FAIL.