U.S. Navy air combat training system moves one step closer to deployment
NewsOctober 22, 2019
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa. Collins Aerospace Systems, a unit of United Technologies Corp., has successfully passed the Critical Design Review (CDR) phase of the Tactical Combat Training System Increment II (TCTS Inc. II) program with the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Naval Aviation Training Systems (PMA-205) program office.
Successful completion of the CDR enables the program to move into the fabrication, integration, and testing phase, bringing the TCTS Inc. II one step closer to becoming the next-generation military air combat training system aimed at replacing the Navy and Marine Corps’ training range infrastructure.
The TCTS Inc. II contract -- originally awarded to Rockwell Collins in 2017 -- enables the rapid adaptation of new missions and threats into training as well as enabling joint and coalition interoperability with 4th- and 5th-generation aircraft platforms. Collins Aerospace’s open architecture design and the use of industry standards -- including those that align with the FACE Technical Standard -- are intended to give the Navy and Marine Corps the ability to rapidly advance future technology insertions; it will also enable the company to export the system to coalition and NATO countries.
Collins Aerospace officials say that the F/A-18 will be the first aircraft to use the TCTS Inc. II training pod, providing blended live and constructive training capabilities with 4th-/5th-generation aircraft interoperability.
