Marotta Controls to develop control actuation system for U.S. Navy’s SPEAR project

MONTVILLE, N.J. - Marotta Controls announced that it has designed and will be manufacturing a new Control Actuation System (CAS) for the U.S. Navy’s Supersonic Propulsion Enabled Advanced Ramjet (SPEAR) project. The Navy’s Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division is co-developing the SPEAR demonstrator with Boeing, which will help the Navy determine technical requirements for future carrier-based weapons systems. Marotta’s CAS will be utilized on SPEAR during its technology prove-out demonstration slated for late 2022.

Supersonic speeds present an inarguably harsh performance environment. To satisfy this while also meeting thermal management and system weight requirements within the packaging specifications, Marotta is repurposing two different systems previously developed and qualified by Marotta. This hybrid solution minimizes technical risk and maximizes hardware re-use. The resulting CAS is a high-performance system consisting of high-power density electronics and electromechanical actuators. It will be capable of producing a minimum of 8,000 Watts of power and a bandwidth of greater than 18 Hertz.  

Marotta aims to accomplish testing in less than half the typical time by leveraging its newly acquired in-house test capabilities. The company recently announced the expansion of its in-house testing capabilities ultimately creating one of the U.S.’ most sophisticated test facilities. That expansion included the addition of state-of-the-art vibration testing systems capable of supporting the SPEAR CAS’s pre-flight qualification analysis.