Cubic Corporation announced it was awarded a series of contracts from Lockheed Martin Aeronautics to produce and add enhancements to the Air Combat Training System (ACTS) of the F-35 fighter jet, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). Unlike the wing-mounted pods used on fourth generation fighters, the F-35 version of the P5 Combat Training System (P5CTS) incorporates an internally mounted subsystem that enables the F-35 to maintain its stealth characteristics while training.
Cubic and DRS Technologies, the principal subcontractor, are under a multimillion dollar contract to produce additional JSF P5 systems to support production aircraft. Two enhancements will be made to the system including an upgrade to make the ground subsystem compliant to Microsoft Windows 7 operating system and an upgrade of the encryption capability for the JSF P5 systems.
“We are very proud of our selection and continuing support to the fifth generation community. This extends a solid record of delivering technology that enables a very sophisticated training environment. It also extends our long history dating back to fourth generation and previous aircraft. Our system assures the F-35 community an integrated and comprehensive ACMI debrief for mixed-aircraft training,” said Dave Schmitz, president of Cubic Defense Applications. The JSF P5 system uses the same datalink as the P5CTS/TCTS system used by the U.S. Air Force, Air National Guard, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and many international partners. The JSF P5 datalink can receive and process information from any P5CTS/TCTS external pod including unencrypted information from fourth generation aircraft.
Cubic is the prime contractor responsible for performance in all areas of systems engineering, and for development/integration/installation of the ground instrumentation subsystem. DRS is the principal subcontractor responsible for performance in all areas related to the P5CTS airborne instrumentation subsystem. Engineering work for the training systems will be performed in San Diego, Calif., and Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
