• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Hamilton Sundstrand TJ-30 Propulsion Engine Successfully Powers First Flight of Raytheon NetFires LAM Missile

FARNBOROUGH, AIR SHOW, United Kingdom- Europe, Jul 23, 2002

Hamilton Sundstrand has a small orange toolbox that measures fewer than 12 inches high and wide, and 18 inches long. It contains but one small powerful item – an engine that can power a miniature missile or unmanned vehicle at nearly the speed of sound for more than 250 miles.

A version of this Hamilton Sundstrand engine, a TJ-30-4A turbojet, successfully powered the first flight of the DARPA-sponsored Raytheon Prototype NetFires Loiter Attack Missile (LAM), which took place last month. The flight lasted about 11 minutes and included two racetrack circuits at the NASA Wallops Test Range in Virginia on June 17.

“We have unique technologies that enable us to provide a great deal of thrust with a very small engine,” said Tom Ledgerwood, General Manager of Defense Programs for Hamilton Sundstrand Power Systems. “Our ability to power miniature missiles and unmanned vehicles with an engine that is small, enables us to support a wide variety of programs now under various stages of development in the U.S. military.”

Assisted by SWB Turbines in Neenah, Wisconsin, Hamilton Sundstrand supplied the propulsion system for the first Raytheon NetFires LAM missile flight. This system included the engine, fuel system, electronic control unit and its software, starter and igniter.

Hamilton Sundstrand will support three important NetFires LAM flight-tests scheduled for later this year and early 2003. These tests will demonstrate missile flight controllability, with the last planned to include a military payload. Future flights will also involve ground launch from a canister via a rocket booster.

The June flight of the TJ-30 is the second successful test flight of a Hamilton Sundstrand small propulsion engine this year. In February, the TJ-50 performed flawlessly in the successful Low Cost Autonomous Attack System (LOCAAS) program control test vehicle flight-test at Eglin AFB. The TJ-50 will also power the guided test vehicle and warhead test vehicle in flight-tests later this year. Both the TJ-50 and the TJ-30 are among the candidates competing to power future phases of LOCAAS.

The company’s TJ-50 engine also supports the U.S. Air Force Miniature Air Launched Decoy and supersonic Miniature Air Launched Interceptor.

“Our small propulsion engines have the power that meet the stringent requirements our customers have set forth for these programs,” said Ledgerwood. “We are committed to provide engines that will enable the U.S. military to meet its missile and unmanned air vehicle mission needs.”

Hamilton Sundstrand, The Aerospace Power CompanyTM, is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation (NYSE: UTX), and is headquartered in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. Among the world's largest suppliers of technologically advanced aerospace and industrial products, the company designs, manufactures and services aerospace systems and provides integrated system solutions for commercial, regional, corporate and military aircraft. It is also a major supplier for global space programs.

Contact:

Tim Burris (U.K.)
Chalet D 17-20
1-252-380-084

Peg Hashem (U.S.)
1-860-654-3469