Air Force orders jet fighter radio controller electronics from Rockwell Collins
PATUXENT RIVER NAS, Md., 22 March 2013. The U.S. Air is ordering avionics communications components and subsystems for the Boeing F-15C/D twin-engine jet fighters from Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, under terms of a $7.3 million contract announced Wednesday.
Rockwell Collins is providing 50 C-12719/ARC control radio sets; 50 AM-7526/ARC high power amplifiers; 50 MX-11641/ARC LNA diplexers; 50 RT-1939(C) receiver-transmitters; six RT-1747D/ARC receiver-transmitters spares; and six C-11898A/ARC control radio sets spares.
C-12719/ARC control radio sets provide electronic control for several versions of the Rockwell Collins AN/ARC-210 radio multimode communications system. The basic transceiver can operate as a normal non-electronic counter countermeasures (ECCM) type VHF/UHF radio, while other types have ECCM that enables the AN/ARC-210 in satellite communications (SATCOM) and jam-resistant modes.
The AN/ARC-210 operates via the MIL-STD-1553B data bus, and has options for remote control for manual operation of the transceiver.
The single-seat F-15C and two-seat F-15D versions of the Boeing F-15 Eagle jet fighter are operated by about 10 U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard squadrons. The C and D versions of the fighter jet were developed in the 1980s.
Although the F/15 C and D model aircraft are ageing, they remain high-performance supersonic jet fighters that can match many other high-performance jets around the world. The aircraft is being replaced in some squadrons with the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor fighter, as well as with the Lockheed Martin F-35 joint strike fighter.
On the current contract, Rockwell Collins will do the work in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and should be finished in March 2014. Awarding the contract on behalf of the Air Force were officials of the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md.
For more information contact Rockwell Collins online at www.rockwellcollins.com, or Naval Air Systems Command at www.navair.navy.mil.
John Keller | Editor
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.
