Ohio company gets $24M contract from Air Force lab

DAYTON, Ohio - A research laboratory at Ohio's Wright-Patterson Air Force Base has awarded a $24.1 million equipment development contract to a company in nearby Beavercreek.

The Dayton Daily News reports Defense Engineering Corp. was awarded a six-year contract to create sensing equipment to keep aircraft from colliding in midair. Such technology could enable unmanned aircraft to detect oncoming planes and automatically change course to avoid crashing.

A lab official says the sensor technology would boost flight safety and be a key to allowing unmanned aircraft to pass through airspace used by planes carrying people.

He says the company also is tasked with creating sensors to help protect troops from small-arms fire and surface-to-air missiles.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)