Charlotte, N.C. – October 29, 2013 – Curtiss-Wright Controls, Inc. today announced that it has received a contract from Lockheed Martin Aeronautics to supply its COTS-based rugged Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) Switch technology for use in upcoming F-16 fighter jet upgrade programs for the United States Air Force (USAF) and other nations. The first of the upgrade programs is for the Taiwan Air Force’s F-16 aircraft fleet. Under the agreement, Curtiss-Wright Controls’ Defense Solutions division will provide Lockheed Martin with its SMS-652 SwitchBox™ rugged GbE Switch product. The initial contract is valued at approximately $3 million, and shipments are scheduled to begin in the first half of 2014. The estimated potential value of the contract is approximately $8M over the life of the additional upgrade programs.
“We are pleased to have been selected by Lockheed Martin to provide our cost-effective, proven Gigabit Switch subsystem for use in their F-16 fighter jet upgrade programs,” said Tom Quinly, President of Curtiss-Wright Controls. “The selection of the SMS-652 Switchbox to upgrade the Taiwan Air Force’s F-16 fleet reinforces Curtiss-Wright’s leadership position as a supplier of SWaP-optimized COTS solutions that deliver the highest contemporary processing and networking solutions to deployed rugged defense and aerospace platforms.”
About the SMS-652
The SMS-652 SwitchBox is a powerful open-standards based GbE network switch designed for rugged military systems. This cost-effective, compact COTS subsystem eases and speeds the process of integrating modern digital networked architectures into military platforms. The SMS-652 SwitchBox reduces design risk and shortens development schedules for bringing network-enabled operations to new and legacy airborne, ground combat, and unmanned platforms.
The Defense Solutions division will manufacture the products covered by this agreement at its Ottawa, Canada facility. The products will be shipped to Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Ft. Worth, Texas.
For more information about Curtiss-Wright Controls Defense Solutions, please visit www.cwcdefense.com.
