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Quick turnaround in wartime


Tuesday, December 9, 2008


Posted by John McHale

Many of our stories this past year have covered how U.S. Department of Defense leaders are pushing aside funding for long-term programs to get equipment and technology into the field quickly to help the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan -- especially for technology to defeat improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Developing technology for mission critical applications is not typically done over night, and it taxes engineers to find a viable solution in a short time while still ensuring the reliability necessary for harsh environments

I had the opportunity last week to visit engineers at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control in Orlando, Fla., to learn more about a quick-turn around effort they did for electronics aboard the U.S. Army Apache helicopter.

The Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate (AATD) tasked the Lockheed engineers to design the Apache Video from Unmanned Aircraft Systems for Interoperability Teaming -- Level 2 (VUIT-2) program last year. Lockheed engineers completed the system in just over 10 months.

Production engineers in the Lockheed manufacturing facility told me it was the fastest they ever had to turn around a program from start to finish, but now they know they can do it. They said that the lessons they learned will he applied to other programs they are working on to possibly speed up the production cycle.

The VUIT-2 essentially enables video to be transferred to ground units for improved situational awareness. It will also be used in conjunction with unmanned aircraft, Lockheed Martin engineers said. The VUIT-2 does not interfere with the helicopter's avionics, which helped shorten the design cycle as well, they said.

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Welcome to the lighter side of Military & Aerospace Electronics. This is where our staff recount tales of the strange, the weird, and the otherwise offbeat. We could put news here, but we have the rest of our Website for that. Enjoy our scribblings, and feel free to add your own opinions. You might also get to know us in the process. Proceed at your own risk.

John Keller for MAE
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.


Courtney Howard for MAE Courtney E. Howard is senior editor of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine. She is responsible for writing news stories and feature articles for the print publication, as well as composing daily news for the magazine's Website and assembling the weekly electronic newsletter. Her features have appeared in such high-tech trade publications as Military & Aerospace Electronics, Computer Graphics World, Electronic Publishing, Small Times, and The Audio Amateur.


John McHale for MAE John McHale is executive editor of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, where he has been covering the defense Industry for more than dozen years. During that time he also led PennWell's launches of magazines and shows on homeland security and a defense publication and website in Europe. Mr. McHale has served as chairman of the Military & Aerospace Electronics Forum and its Advisory Council since 2004. He lives in Boston with his golf clubs.

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