Orion Solar has been supplying Carmanah solar powered aviation lights in Australia for more than ten years which meeting the requirements of a range of civil and military applications.
The ability to deploy an airfield lighting system within a matter of hours without grid power, buried cable or airfield electrical vaults makes the technology particularly suitable for defence applications. For this reason, Orion Solar displayed their capabilities on the Queensland Defence Suppliers stand at the recent Avalon 2015 Air Show.
A recent example of the success of the Carmanah lights was the installation of A704-5 runway edge lights at Canada’s premier airlift base at Trenton, Ontario. Trenton is the hub of the Canadian Forces air transport fleet for both strategic and tactical operations.
The lights were equipped with visible and IR LEDs for use with NVG, radio control to support aircrew ARCAL operation and handheld wireless controller for ground operation.
The installation was used to train the C-17 aircrew in approach and landing using their night vision goggles. The training cycle that ensued paved the way for the first tactical NVG approach in Afghanistan performed by the Royal Canadian Air Force. The lights have since been moved to the Canadian Forces airfield Mountainview where they continue to support flight training for the RCAF.
The lighting demands of many military bases all over the world have been met by proven Carmanah products and recently they met another challenge in the Jordanian desert.
This was an urgent request to supply, install and commission four solar LED helipads within a one month timeframe. The solution for this project incorporated an array of A650 solar aviation lights, providing safe helicopter landings with a reliable and portable system, without dependency on an external power source.
The United States Department of Defense have been long-term users of Carmanah’s products, deploying them in undisclosed forward operating bases in the Middle East for runway edge marking, threshold, taxiway, obstruction and helipad lighting. The photograph shows a F-18 at an airfield in Iraq.
Orion Solar supplies a range of solar powered LED lighting for marine, aviation, traffic and general illumination applications from it’s Gold Coast base. In addition to defence, our markets include maritime authorities, the mining industry, civil aviation and local government, in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands.