Boeing Selects Lockheed Martin Control Systems to Develop Video Integrated Processor for C-17 Globemaster III
JOHNSON CITY, NY, June 16th, 1999 -- Lockheed Martin Control Systems has been selected by Boeing Aircraft & Missile Systems to develop the Video Integrated Processor, or VIP, for the C-17 Globemaster III aircraft. The processor will perform video processing and switching and will provide a platform for an advanced warning system that supports low-altitude tactical missions. Control Systems will design and build six production-representative units for flight-test and lab use by Boeing. The processor will consist of a power supply, an I/O module, a graphics processor, and a memory card.
A key function of the system is TAWS, the Terrain Awareness Warning System, produced by British Aerospace's Systems Equipment group of Plymouth, UK, and Fort Worth, Texas. TAWS is adapted from TERPROM®, the digital terrain system used on U.S. Air Force F-16s and other world-class fighter/attack aircraft. The system navigates independently over a detailed database of Earth's terrain and uses its navigation position to provide terrain-awareness cues to the flight crew throughout the C-17 operational envelope. Key TAWS system capabilities are state-of-the-art tactical CFIT protection against terrain and obstacles and vertical steering cues for low-level operations.
A single VIP chassis design will minimize cost while allowing expansion for a variety of growth options, such as video processing to support new head-up displays and cockpit displays. The Air Force plans to forward-fit the VIP on all future C-17s and retrofit the unit on the aircraft built to date.
The VIP evolved from another Lockheed Martin product on the C-17, the Core Integrated Processor. The CIP is the central computer that controls the aircraft's avionics systems. The introduction of the CIP resulted in the Lockheed Martin and Boeing CIP teams winning Boeing's coveted Silver Eagle and Golden Eagle awards.
Lockheed Martin Control Systems, based in Johnson City, N.Y., is part of the corporation's Electronics Sector. Control Systems is a world leader in designing and manufacturing electronics systems for the global defense, civil, space, and commercial markets. Products include flight controls, engine controls, mission computers, launch vehicle controls, and controls for the locomotive industry and the emerging hybrid electric vehicle market.
Larry Stone 607-770-3944
lawrence.w.stone@lmco.com
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