Fiber Optics For Supersonic Aircraft Fire Detection

Fire Detection The occurrence of a fire in a military aircraft constitutes one of the largest single causes of aircraft losses and fatalities. It is therefore important that a fire be detected in adequate time to take compensatory action. False warnings and high failure rates have plagued past detection systems, with the result that crew members have little confidence in these systems today. New systems presently under development can solve many of these problems, but as with any problem of this complexity, solutions are neither universal nor straightforward. Thus it is that high temperature quartz fiber optics bundles can be called upon to solve some of the unique problems still existing in the area of fire detection on supersonic aircraft.