Boeing Starts F/A-18F Aft Seat Testing of Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System


ST. LOUIS, November 3, 2005 – Boeing [NYSE: BA] started flight tests this month at Naval Air Warfare Center China Lake, Calif., as part of the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) integration into the aft cockpits of the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18F Super Hornet.

The testing marks the first time both the pilot and weapon systems officer have used the helmet in an F/A-18F during flight.

“This first flight of the JHMCS in the aft cockpit of the Super Hornet brings us closer to providing Navy aircrews with an incredible increase in situation awareness and combat effectiveness,” said Todd Harper, the JHMCS F/A-18 team leader for Boeing. Flight testing of the helmet in the aft cockpit of the F/A-18D began in January 2005.

This flight test coincides with the Navy awarding Boeing a $4.4 million addition to the current F/A-18E/F multi-year contract to provide aft-cockpit helmets in F/A-18F and EA-18G aircraft scheduled for delivery beginning in October 2007. F/A-18F aircraft to be used for validation and verification testing will be retrofit with the aft-cockpit capability beginning in late summer 2006.

First used in Operation Iraqi Freedom, JHMCS gives flight crewmembers the ability to rapidly acquire and designate a target simply by looking at it. By putting an aiming cross, which is projected on the helmet visor, over the desired target and pressing a button, the pilot can quickly and easily aim weapons and sensors to designate and attack airborne or ground targets. JHMCS also displays aircraft altitude, airspeed, gravitational pull and angle of attack on the visor, as well as tactical information, to increase the crew member's awareness of the state of the aircraft and the combat situation.

Boeing is the prime contractor and integrator for JHMCS and Vision System International, based in San Jose, Calif., is the major subcontractor.

Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, a unit of The Boeing Company, is one of the world's largest space and defense businesses. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $30.5 billion business. It provides network-centric system solutions to its global military, government, and commercial customers. It is a leading provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems; the world's largest military aircraft manufacturer; the world's largest satellite manufacturer and a leading provider of space-based communications; the primary systems integrator for U.S. missile defense; NASA's largest contractor; and a global leader in sustainment solutions and launch services.p

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Boeing Small Diameter Bomb Enters Operational Testing

Low Rate Production Continues With $38.3M Contract Award


ST. LOUIS, November 10, 2005 – Two months after development flight testing ended, the U.S. Air Force recently began operational testing of the Boeing [NYSE: BA] Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) with a series of tests at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

“While we've done our best to conduct development testing under realistic conditions, the operational tests are flown in scenarios that are as realistic as possible by crews with combat experience,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Richard Justice, SDB program manager. “The weapons will be handled by ‘blue suiters' from start to finish, just like they were in a combat zone.”

Boeing completed SDB development flight testing on schedule and on cost Sept. 25. During the highly successful development program, 35 SDBs were successfully tested against a variety of fixed targets, each hitting within an average of four feet from its surveyed target aimpoint. Operational testing is expected to last approximately eight months.

SDB entered low-rate initial production last April and on Oct. 31 received a Lot 2 contract from the Air Force for $38.3 million to produce 567 additional SDBs and 140 carriages.

The all-weather SDB weapon system includes a carriage with four bombs and is compatible with every U.S. fighter and bomber aircraft. It has a standoff range of 60 nautical miles. At 71 inches long, this 250-pound class weapon quadruples the number of weapons each aircraft can carry. The system will first be deployed on the Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle in 2006.

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one of the world's largest space and defense businesses. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $30.5 billion business. It provides network-centric system solutions to its global military, government, and commercial customers. It is a leading provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems; the world's largest military aircraft manufacturer; the world's largest satellite manufacturer and a leading provider of space-based communications; the primary systems integrator for U.S. missile defense; NASA's largest contractor; and a global leader in sustainment solutions and launch services.

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