Oxley Developments has been awarded a prestigious contract to supply aircraft navigation LED lights to the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) for their Atlante unmanned air vehicle (UAV) program.

Oxley will supply a full suite of external lights for the Atlante aircraft, consisting of Oxley NVG FriendlyTM wing tip navigation, anti-collision and tail lights. Under Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) there is a requirement for all aircraft to have anti-collision and position lights. Position lights consist of an Aviation Red light on the left side, an Aviation Green light on the right and an Aviation White tail light.

Atlante is a long range tactical UAV which is used for reconnaissance, surveillance and target identification. One ground control station can control four aircraft, which can operate 24 hours a day in any weather conditions and can take off and land on a runway or can take off from a launcher and land using a parachute. The aircraft is in production in Spain and the first test flights are due to take place towards the end of 2011.

Oxley are world leaders in the application of LED technology, which is used in aircraft lighting for its high mean time between failure rate and low through life costs. LEDs are much more reliable and rarely fail, making them a 'fit and forget' solution. They are also lightweight and low profile, which are important factors, particularly for UAVs.

After submitting a proposal, Senior Business Development Manager Phil Robinson met with EADS in Madrid to show samples of the lights and won the order after supplying mock ups for them to evaluate against the aircraft. He acknowledges that the distinguished history of Oxley was a big factor in the successful bid. "We are very pleased to be chosen as the lighting supplier for the Atlante and to be working with EADS." said Phil. "EADS know our history and reputation and were very happy with the weight, functionality and technical specifications of the lights, and as the lights were already fully qualified and available, we were able to quickly respond with technical design files and samples prior to being awarded the contract."

EADS is a global leader in defence and aerospace technology. The group includes Airbus commercial and military aircraft and Eurocopter, the world's largest helicopter supplier.

The lighting suite has been designed, built and tested by Oxley at their Priory Park, Ulverston headquarters.