OWEGO, NY -- Lockheed Martin has completed initial electromagnetic interference (EMI) testing of the next-generation vehicle it is building for the U.S. Army’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) competition. The tests are helping team engineers reduce risk and ensure JLTV program success by advancing the team’s vehicle design in the early stages of development.

“As a systems integrator, we routinely perform EMI testing early in the design process to find sources of electromagnetic radiation that could interfere with other on-board electronic systems or enable enemy forces to detect the vehicle on the modern battlefield,” said Louis DeSantis, vice president and general manager of Ground Vehicle Systems at Lockheed Martin Systems Integration – Owego. “Correcting any issues now through structural redesign and relocation or shielding of key subsystems is far less costly and time consuming than making the same improvements later, and will help speed development of this vital transport system to the war fighter.”

EMI testing was performed on the JLTV Team’s Combat Tactical Vehicle Payload Category B infantry carrier inside an anechoic chamber at Lockheed Martin Systems Integration in Owego NY. Insulated from outside radio signal interference, the chamber enables test engineers to precisely measure the emission levels radiating from specific equipment. Systems tested included radio antennas, displays, engine and transmission controllers and electrical components. Additional tests conducted on an outdoor range characterized the interactions of the vehicle’s antennas, which will determine the optimum design of the communications suite.

The tests were performed by Lockheed Martin’s Owego-based EMI Laboratory team, which recently gained accreditation from the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP). Run by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology, the NVALP verifies that testing and calibration laboratories meet national and international quality and procedural requirements.

This summer, the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps are expected to award 27-month technology development contracts to at least two industry teams. Prototype JLTV vehicles developed for the demonstration will undergo a host of trials to military standards, including EMI testing. The services could order as many as 50,000 vehicles for operation beginning in the mid 2010s.

In addition to its infantry carrier, Lockheed Martin also has built a second JLTV prototype — the Utility Vehicle Light Payload Category C — designed to carry personnel, general cargo and ammunition. The Category B vehicle already has undergone more than 5,000 miles of on and off-road testing, and both vehicles will complete 25,000 test miles by the end of this year.

As a lightweight tactical vehicle, the JLTV program will provide the services with a family of expeditionary vehicles capable of on and off-road mobility, protection from roadside bombs and the ability to haul a variety of useful payloads. As a system, the sensors and communications suite aboard the JLTV will tap into the military’s global communications network, enabling forces to coordinate operations by sharing up-to-the-minute battlefield information.

The Lockheed Martin-led JLTV Team includes Lockheed Martin as the prime contractor and design agent, providing systems engineering, platform integration, design expertise and program management. BAE Systems Mobility & Protection Systems provides advanced armor solutions and production facilities for high volume assembly. Alcoa Defense supplies materials knowledge, design services and aluminum components that give the vehicle its structural strength at reduced weight.

Lockheed Martin
27.04.2008