BQM-167X (Photo: Composite Engineering)
CEi's BQM-167X will replace Northrop's BQM-74E, which the Navy uses as a surrogate for sea-skimming anti-ship missiles when testing shipboard air defenses. The $31.5 million contract is a big deal for the privately owned company, which employs fewer than 400 people.
Business-development svp Jeff Herro says CEi developed the -167X from the Air Force -167A on its own money, while the Navy paid for a range demonstration to ensure it would have a competition for its new Subsonic Aerial Target (SSAT). In fact CEi beat not only incumbent Northrop, but also DRS offering a target from Finmeccanica sister company Selex Galileo.
Herro says CEi's owners bought the company in the early 1990s for $10,000 after seeing it advertised in the Sacramento Bee. They began by producing composite piece parts, and went on to build most of the structure of the MQM-107E target for BAE Systems.
CEi then designed the BQM-167A, winning the Air Force competition to replace the MQM-107 in 2002. The -167X took the same engine, but moved it inside the airframe, which combined with area ruling and a redesigned wing resulted in a smaller, lighter, faster target.
Herro says the -167X beats the Navy requirement to fly at 6.6ft altitude at Mach 0.9 and maneuver like a sea-skimming missile, having flown supersonically in tests. The SSAT contract includes the first two production lots and the Navy plans to begin fielding its nw target in 2015.
Losing SSAT is a blow to Northrop, which says it will continue to support the Navy's inventory of MQM-34 and -74E targets, as well as international programs. But this is a changing of the guard in the target market - CEi has already delivered BQM-167As to South Korea and -167Xs to Taiwan, Herro says, and more sales are sure to follow.
No comments:
Post a Comment