The prototype U.S. Navy electronic Consolidated Automated Support System (eCASS) station. (Photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin Simulation, Training and Support, Orlando, Fla.)
NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. (April 21, 2010)—NAVAIR’s Common Aviation Support Equipment program office (PMA-260) awarded Lockheed Martin Simulation, Training and Support of Orlando, Fla., an $83.3 million five-year development contract March 18 to design, fabricate and test the electronic Consolidated Automated Support System (eCASS).
eCASS will be the U.S. Navy’s next generation of automated test equipment with a requirement of about 340 eCASS stations.
“eCASS will replace the current Consolidated Automated Support System automated test equipment originally designed and built in the 1980s and fielded in the early 1990s,” said Capt. Mike Belcher, Common Aviation Support Equipment PMA-260 program manager "It's been designed for compatibility with existing CASS hardware and will reuse CASS test program sets for more than 1,100 weapon system units."
The Hybrid and Radio Frequency versions of eCASS will replace the five current versions of CASS.
The new contract calls for Lockheed Martin to produce 14 engineering development models during the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the contract.
NAVAIR's PMA-260 manages the procurement, development and fielding of Common Aviation Support Equipment and Automatic Test Equipment that supports every Type/Model/Series aircraft within the Naval Aviation Enterprise.
Source: NAVAIR