Cubic Begins Delivery on Canada's New Air Combat Training System.

Business Editors/Defense Writers

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 4, 2001

Cubic Defense Systems, a subsidiary of San Diego-based Cubic Corp. (AMEX:CUB), has delivered the components for Canada's first-ever "rangeless" air combat training system.

The new Canadian CF-18 Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation (ACMI) system will replace an existing system used by fighter pilots at Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake, Alberta, providing both fully autonomous and tethered ACMI training capability.

The new ACMI is expected to become operational in time for the Maple Flag air combat training exercise this May. Pods and displays will also be installed at Bagotville, Quebec, giving Bagotville pilots the capability to train on a fully autonomous ACMI system without deploying to Cold Lake. The Canadian system will be Cubic's first air combat training system to use PCs and Windows NT/2000. Cubic previously used a larger computer platform that operated on a UNIX operating system.

The new ACMI has many advanced features. The tethered capability will be enhanced to support three times more aircraft. In addition, the new rangeless system will offer No Drop Weapons Scoring (NDWS), a data link relay and integration of Surface Threat Electronic Warfare (STEW) elements. These new features will make the system an important part of fighter pilot training for both daily squadron level operations as well as the annual multinational Maple Flag exercise.

One of the biggest advantages of the upgraded ACMI is the significantly expanded tracking capability. The number of high-activity aircraft that can participate in exercises on the existing Cold Lake range will jump from eight to 72 and cover an area in a 100-mile radius. The greater numbers of aircraft are possible through use of a UHF Transponder built by Cubic subsidiary, Cubic Communications Inc. The replacement UHF has an extended data rate and more output power.

For the past few months, pod assemblers and testers in San Diego have been working at a brisk pace to deliver 42 pods and nine display systems to the Canadian Forces for use in Maple Flag.

Cubic won an initial $9.9 million contract in January 2000 for 30 pods and seven display systems. The Canadian Forces later exercised their option for 12 additional pods and two display systems for a total contract value of $13.4 million. These additional pods and displays will be used as part of the NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) course, which offers undergraduate and postgraduate military pilot training programs at CFB Cold Lake to pilots in four countries other than Canada.

"Cubic engineers have really streamlined the rangeless pod," said Bruce Roberts, president, Cubic Defense Systems. "The internals have been greatly simplified by combining functionality into either one box or eliminating redundant hardware. There are also improved internal harnesses, and the implementation of the new Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) navigation instrumentation, which will provide improved accuracy in GPS tracking."

The CF-18 ACMI is also the first program to integrate the new Air Combat Training Interface Device (ACTID). ACTID was developed under a Cubic research and development investment and was later approved for patent. The ACTID and Airborne Instrumentation Subsystem (AIS) components of the ACMI system underwent a series of tests in the CF-18 Systems Integration Lab at Mirabel, Quebec, in December that successfully proved all the functional capabilities to the customer.

Upon delivery, the Canadian Department of National Defense (DND) will conduct a certification of the rangeless pods and ACTIDs. When DND certification is finished, Cubic can complete integration and tests with the goal of being finished in time for Maple Flag.