Rockwell Collins celebrated the expansion of its Sydney production facility where it will manufacture its Distributed Aperture System (DAS) optical assemblies for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II jet fighter.
Rockwell Collins executives were joined by The Honourable Anthony Roberts MP, representing the Premier of New South Wales and Consul General Hugo Llorens, representing the US Ambassador to Australia, at the celebration last Friday.
Last year, Rockwell Collins inked a long-term agreement with Northrop Grumman Corp. to manufacture the optical assemblies in Australia for the DAS on the Lockheed Martin F-35 aircraft.
“With the support and investment of the Commonwealth of Australia, we’re proud to be able to produce this vital assembly in Australia while showcasing Rockwell Collins Australia’s precision manufacturing capability for optics,” said Phil Jasper, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Government Systems, for Rockwell Collins.
“Having access to new state-of-the-art manufacturing capability located in Australia is a great example of the truly international nature of the F-35 program.”
The DAS is a multifunction infrared system that enables F-35 pilots to simultaneously detect and track aircraft and missiles in every direction. The system also provides visual imagery for day or night navigation.
Imagery projected onto the pilot’s helmet-mounted display enables the pilot to look virtually at terrain and the rest of the outside world, through the floor and wings of the aircraft.
According to the official press release by Rockwell Collins, the DAS works in conjunction with the Northrop Grumman AN/APG-81 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and other onboard systems to give pilots an unprecedented degree of situational awareness.
For more information please visit www.rockwellcollins.com.
