TRW Demonstrates Cost-Saving Aircraft Electronics Diagnostic System For Use In Military And Commercial Fleets.

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EGLIN AFB, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 29, 2000

TRW Inc. (NYSE: TRW), the U.S. Air Force and Intellon Corporation have demonstrated a powerful, new aircraft diagnostic testing system that will reduce avionics test times from weeks to days and yield dramatic cost savings.

The system, called the Common Event Network Test Instrumentation System (CENTS), was successfully used to perform tests on an Air Force F-15 fighter.

CENTS employs TRW-developed drop-in sensors and the Internet protocol-based PowerPacket(TM) Powerline Networking Kit technology chip set. The networking chip was developed by Intellon for the consumer electronics market. This technology allows an aircraft's own electrical lines to act as the test medium for any component connected to the plane's electrical system -- eliminating the need for special test wiring.

"This demonstration proves the feasibility of using an aircraft's power bus for the network backbone," said Lorin Klein, program manager for the USAF 46th Test Wing. "CENTS will give us the capability to instrument any aircraft for test with minimum modification possible, and most importantly, without having to run extra wiring."

Klein also said that the new system would work on advanced aircraft such as the U.S. Air Force F-22, Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) and commercial aircraft.

TRW, Intellon and the Air Force conducted its first phase of tests using two personal computers and video teleconferencing cameras connected to receptacles on the F-15's wing pylon and a receptacle on the opposite wing. The camera transferred real-time video and audio streams over the aircraft's electrical system during testing. The test was conducted with avionics and other electrical systems operating normally. The test yielded data transfer rates of up to 13.7 Mbps (million bits per second), the cutting edge of networking speeds.

"The next phase of CENTS will focus on the instrumentation and monitoring components. It will fully demonstrate the CENTS local area network inside an aircraft," said Klein.

TRW is the prime contractor for the development of the CENTS system and is developing the system at its Avionics Engineering Center in Shalimar, Fla. The project is sponsored and funded by the Office of the Secretary of Defense as part of the Central Test & Evaluation Investment Program.

TRW has been engaged in avionics development since the 1970s. The company produces avionics systems, as well as both hardware and software development for F-22, Comanche and JSF aircraft, and subsystems for a wide variety of aircraft. With headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio, TRW provides advanced technology products and services for the global automotive, aerospace, telecommunications and information systems markets.

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