A. I can’t say too much but recently we’ve completed, or are working on:
- Three projects in the UK.
- One for the US Airforce in Italy.
- And, one each in Spain, Germany, Qatar, and Greece.
A. Quite often, when bases are shared with the US Dept of Defence, there can be some debate about which standards apply.
Military bases also need to illuminate a large surface area with a few remotely located masts. This means we’ve got to use a lot of very high-power projectors on each mast. And that can present a big challenge when working on retrofit projects.
Another issue we can face is that military sites have usually been in operation for decades. Over that time military needs, equipment and aircrafts have changed. But, field layouts and the infrastructure haven’t. So, we need to solve today’s problems with masts that were designed many years ago.
A. Like any site, lighting is critical to providing a safe working environment. As aircraft arrive from missions or training or are being refuelled and inspected, the level of lighting must be 100% right. And the lights used must remain in good working order throughout their design life. Just as with commercial airports, there’s no room for failure.
That’s not all. The lighting must be able to be controlled for operations where pilots arrive using night vision devices – a unique need for military airfields.
A. All our projects are design-led, and each airfield layout needs the right combination of lighting products. So, we don’t have a standard product we recommend. Our experienced Lighting Design and Engineering teams work together to deliver perfect lighting solutions for each specific airfield. Most of the military projects we’ve competed though have incorporated our high-power Modus R1200 sports floodlight to some extent.
A. The Modus R1200 sports floodlight lets us place a lot of quality light far away from where it’s based. And its range of proprietary optics and visors also means we can meet a projects specific needs when others can’t.
A. For the military, the two key considerations, when commissioning any project, are complying with standards, and reliability. Both of which are at the heart of all we do. They’re used to all their equipment being of the highest order and highly reliable. Careers have been made or broken depending on choices made. And commissioning an airfield’s lighting system is no different.
We deliver an added benefit too. Our experience of designing military airfield sites means we can value engineer existing projects to deliver real capital and operational savings.
A. As you’ll appreciate, all our military projects are all confidential and highly sensitive. So, we can’t give any details away. I wish we could, to show you how we’ve successfully tackled some of our toughest challenges ever. But, as the old joke goes, ‘If I told you that…’.
A. I’d take the same approach as when you’re buying any military equipment. It’s got to be top quality, made for purpose and tested in the field. Military airfield lighting needs specialist knowledge and equipment. So, make sure you come to the experts. Us.