PARSIPPANY, N.J., 18 June 2009. DRS Technologies Inc. has gained follow-on orders of $43.9 million for the P5 Combat Training System/Tactical Combat Training System (P5 CTS/TCTS.) DRS will be responsible for the production, testing, and fielding of the pods which are flown on a variety of aircraft, including the F-15, F-16, FA-18, and AV-8B.
DRS will provide P5 pods for use by U.S. Air Forces Europe (USAFE) squadrons at RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom; Spangdahlem AB, Germany; and Aviano Air Base, Italy, as well as U.S. Navy squadrons in the continental United States. Under contracts awarded by the 689th Armament Systems Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, these additional pods will be delivered along with ground station consoles from Cubic Defense Applications Inc., the prime contractor.
The pods will be manufactured at the DRS Technologies facility in Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., and deliveries will begin in mid-2010, approximately 11 months after receipt of order. These latest orders bring the total number of latest-generation airborne subsystems ordered from DRS to 1,209. These orders also will result in the first delivery of P5 pods to U.S. aircrews outside the continental U.S.
P5 pods are mounted onto participating aircraft, providing rangeless operations and real-time monitoring of the exercise. During air combat training exercises, the pods record mission data; relay time, space, and positioning information between participating aircraft; support real-time weapon simulations; and provide "kill" notification to affected aircrews. Post-mission, the recorded data is replayed on the ground station consoles that are provided by Cubic Defense Applications Inc. and provide the ability to review the performance of participating aircrews in order to fine-tune their combat skills.
P5 CTS/TCTS is available to international users through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Poland was the first FMS customer with pod delivery scheduled for this summer. A second FMS contract was awarded to Cubic/DRS in May to provide P5 pods and ground systems to Singapore for use at Mt. Home AFB, Idaho.
