Tactical Aircraft Programs, PEO(T) Program Executive Officer Rear Adm. Mark Skinner, PMA-213 Program Manager Capt. C.J. Jaynes and Pax River Executive Officer Capt. Steve Schmeiser cut the ribbon opening the new System Integration Lab.
Tuesday was opening day for the PMA-213 System Integration Lab, with the ribbon-cutting called an historic day, ‘‘not just for Navy and Marine Corps aviation, but for all of aviation and related fields of research, development, test and evaluation,” said Pax River Executive Officer Steve Schmeiser.
PMA-213’s program manager, Capt. C.J. Jaynes, said, ‘‘Whether you participated in this construction project, are going to work here or are going to benefit from it, you can be proud of being part of this game-changing capability for the military services.”
The Joint Precision Approach and Landing System (JPALS), now under development, ‘‘vastly improves safety and functionality for military aviation, reduces unique and obsolete service-specific landing systems, and enhances mission capability,” she stated. ‘‘JPALS will allow aircraft to land on any suitable land- or sea-based surface worldwide, provides joint operational capability for U.S. forces, and will meet FAA and international requirements.”
The new facility at Pax River, said Jaynes, ‘‘gives our Navy, Air Force and Army civilian and military engineers the ability to fully test and integrate this new technology in time to meet the requirements of CVN-78 (the Gerald R. Ford class of aircraft carriers), DDG-1000 (Zumwalt class destroyers) and Joint Strike Fighter.”
Existing landing systems have ‘‘found it challenging to keep pace with the developmental, life cycle upgrade and critical fleet test requirements,” said Rear Adm. Mark Skinner, program executive officer, Tactical Aircraft Programs, PEO(T). ‘‘We were limited to a single-configuration setup and consistently forced into lab overtime scenarios to meet a relentless demand to maintain aging equipment while pushing newer, more reliable systems out the door.”
He continued, ‘‘With the construction of this facility, we will have the capacity and throughput to meet existing demands from the fleet and be prepared for initial JPALS integration and test requirements.”
This is not the last step, according to Skinner. ‘‘In the near future, we’re going to see a significant amount of activity here as lab equipment and primary mission equipment are installed in this facility,” he noted. ‘‘The Government Systems Integration Lab will stand up and be a fully operational Carrier Air Traffic Control Center to test JPALS along with the deployed system interfaces and provide additional capacity for lifecycle and fleet support efforts.”
The dedicated space for industry partners in the project ‘‘will foster cooperative development and integration efforts, and leverage the knowledge that industry has gained from their test facilities,” said Skinner.
More than $6.5 million have been committed in the past year to ‘‘add enhanced future Landing Systems Test Facility capacity and capability,” he added. ‘‘We will continue to assess all landing systems facility requirements to insure they remain a mainstay of naval air traffic management systems and the naval aviation enterprise for years to come.”
Following the ribbon-cutting, the System Integration Lab was opened for tours by those attending the ceremony.
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