The Danish defense company Terma has delivered the first of seven Flight Test Instrumentation Pods for the F-35 Lightning II aircraft program to Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, Fort Worth, Texas.
The Flight Test Instrumentation Pods will provide a structurally and environmentally protected housing for the flight test data acquisition system on the Mission Systems test aircraft during flight testing of all F-35 variants. In addition to the test pods, Terma manufactures equipment and nose-boom installations for the test program.
Terma is contracted to supply Lockheed Martin seven pods under the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase of the F-35 program. The pods will contain flight test data acquisition system used to collect data during test flights. The pods will be installed in the internal weapons bays of the aircraft.
"The successful DART Pod project underlines Terma's ability to produce and deliver affordable, high-performance quality products on schedule," said Lars Marcher, Executive Vice President, CTO & Operations, Terma A/S.
"We are extremely pleased to have the first Data Acquisition, Recording and Telemetry (DART) Pod from Terma for use on the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Flight Test Program," said Doug Pearson, vice president of the F-35 Integrated Test Force. "This pod will house the primary data acquisition components for the Mission Systems test aircraft and serve as a key part of our flight test data collection capability. Personnel from Terma have been most helpful in partnering with us to determine and deliver a successful high-quality solution to support our requirement for flight test data. Terma is a valued partner with Lockheed Martin and I look forward to a continuing a mutually beneficial relationship with them."
The contract, signed in June 2006 and worth USD 7.5 millions, includes design, development, integration, testing, and production of seven test pods. Upon delivery, the Pod structures are fully qualified to meet shock, vibration, stress, and other general JSF technical requirements.
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