F-35 JSF Air Combat Training contract won by Cubic
NewsJanuary 05, 2015
SAN DIEGO. Cubic Corp. won a series of contracts from Lockheed Martin Aeronautics to develop and add enhancements to the F-35 fighter jet's Air Combat Training System (ACTS).
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter's (JSF'S) version of the P5 Combat Training System (P5CTS) uses an internally mounted subsystem that allows the F-35 to maintain its stealth characteristics during training a capability not available with the wing-mounted pods used on fourth generation fighters.
Cubic and DRS Technologies, the principal subcontractor, will provide additional JSF P5 systems to support production aircraft. Two enhancements will then be made to the system such as upgrading ground subsystem to be compliant with the Microsoft Windows 7 operating system and upgrading the encryption capability for the JSF P5 systems.
The JSF P5 system has the same datalink as the P5CTS/TCTS system now used by the U.S. Air Force, Air National Guard, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and international partners. The JSF P5 datalink can receive and process data from any P5CTS/TCTS external pod such as unencrypted data from fourth generation aircraft.
Cubic is the prime contractor and responsible for performance in all areas of systems engineering, and for development/integration/installation of the ground instrumentation subsystem. DRS is the principal subcontractor that is responsible for performance in all areas related to the P5CTS airborne instrumentation subsystem. Engineering work for the training systems will take place in San Diego and Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
