US Navy’s Patuxent River Naval Air Station (PAX) has carried out rapid testing and a mission readiness evaluation on the P-8A Poseidon military aircraft inside its Anechoic Chamber.
PAX’s Anechoic Chamber was recently used to conduct the AIMS certification of P-8A’s AN / UPX-43 identification friend or foe interrogator (IFFI).
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Conducting the tests in the chamber, as opposed to in-flight, resulted in savings from the previously established $5.31m, 12-week test programme that would have produced 3.6 hours of data, to just 3.5 weeks of testing that cost roughly $800,000 and gathered 15 hours of data.
P-8A aircraft project officer lieutenant Denver White said: “Right now, one of the most important things we do for the warfighter is to get them the technology they need to complete their mission.
“With the Anechoic Chamber, we are not susceptible to weather or other flight test issues that might cause test delays.”
Approximately 75% of the trials were carried out from inside PAX’s Anechoic Chamber, including testing of the UPX-IFF interrogator, ALQ-240 electronic support measures system, APY-10 radar and GPS, as well as the cyber security of communications and navigation systems.
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By GlobalDataThe tests comprised simulated motion, positioning and altitude, which allowed the aircraft mission systems to experience airborne environments and engage with other systems and platforms.
If approved, the test methods are expected to be used for other navy aircraft such as the MQ-25 Stingray, F-18 Super Hornet, MH-60R Seahawk and F-35 Lightning II.
