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Fighter Pilots Use Lockheed Martin's Virtual Battlefield Management Center To "Test Drive" JSF

For Low Risk Entry To Emd

FORT WORTH, TX, March 7th, 2000 -- Nine military pilots participated in the ultimate "test-drive" during realistic combat tests showcasing the survivability and lethality of the Lockheed Martin team's Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft. The warfighters racked up more than 40 hours of demanding, high-fidelity tactical experience in the new Virtual Battlefield Management Center, designed to replicate the combat environment of 2010 with an intricate network of surface-launched and airborne threats. Facilities like this will save hundreds of millions of dollars in flight-testing costs over the life of the JSF.

Full-mission simulation to this degree of complexity and realism is unprecedented so early in the life of a weapons system.

"The things we are doing today in this lab show how far modeling and simulation has come as an engineering design tool. This technology provides a highly realistic preview of the threats military pilots will face in 10 years," said James D. Engelland, vice president of Weapons System Integration for the Lockheed Martin JSF team. "That, coupled with the design maturity of our team's JSF aircraft, makes exercises like this extremely useful and meaningful."

The test series simulated all JSF sensor systems. In addition to data from on-board sensors, the simulation integrated information from off-board sources to give pilots maximum awareness of the combat situation - just as they will have with the JSF.

Demonstration pilots gave high ratings to the Lockheed Martin JSF virtual battlefield facility and systems. They adapted quickly to the new cockpit and systems and were soon implementing multiship tactics to capitalize on the new capabilities. One pilot commented that the simulations were the first he has seen that provide a truly realistic scenario for combat targeting.

"The success of these exercises gives us great confidence in our proposal for the next program phase and should substantially reduce risk in the areas of lethality, survivability and total program affordability," said Frank J. Cappuccio, vice president and JSF program manager.

The 7,000-square-foot virtual battlefield center includes two fully equipped JSF cockpit stations with all-aspect, high-resolution visual systems, plus four manned control stations for adversaries or additional friendly aircraft. A theater-style observation room provides real-time viewing by observers and can also be used for pre- and post-mission briefings.

Lockheed Martin received one of two JSF Concept Demonstration contracts awarded by the Department of Defense in November 1996. The Lockheed Martin JSF team includes Northrop Grumman and BAE SYSTEMS. Flight evaluation of the demonstrator aircraft is scheduled to take place in 2000, with government selection of a single contractor for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development phase set for 2001.

Carolyn Hodge (817) 777-8110 (800) 489-6188 (pager) carolyn.c.hodge@lmco.com