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Navy Turns to Off-the-Shelf Tablet for CH-53E Panel Upgrade

The system is the first fully integrated, hard-mounted commercial tablet to be used as a primary mission display on a naval aircraft.

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Key Takeaways:

  • The Navy is upgrading CH-53 Super Stallion helicopters with a new "Mission Data Extender" (MDE) system, utilizing off-the-shelf tablets as primary mission displays.
  • This innovative, low-cost solution is the first fully integrated commercial tablet used in this capacity on a naval aircraft, promoting open architecture and faster implementation.
  • The MDE addresses reliability and reparability issues with the aging legacy system, offering major capability improvements like Wi-Fi-based interoperability at less than one-third the cost of a traditional upgrade.
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The Navy is upgrading display panels in CH-53 Super Stallion heavy-lift helicopters with off-the-shelf tablets—a solution it says saves both time and money.

Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) began installing the system, dubbed Mission Data Extender (MDE), in December and said it represents the first fully integrated, hard-mounted commercial tablet to be used as a primary mission display on a naval aircraft.

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