San Diego-based Cubic Defense Systems, Inc. was awarded a $3 million contract from the U.S. Air Force to expand air combat training capabilities at the Air National Guard’s Combat Readiness Training Center at Alpena, Mich.
The new contract brings the total awarded to Cubic for the Alpena center to $6.4 million.
The expansion will make the Alpena center the world’s first air base to offer rangeless training on A-10 aircraft. Rangeless training allows aircraft to prepare for battle in any available airspace without being tied to specific geography and ground ranges. A-10s are designed for close-air support of ground forces and are used against all ground targets.
Cubic’s “smart” pods that are carried under the wings of the aircraft used in training contain electronics that record and calculate simulated firings of weapons and “kill” messages. The information, which relies on global positioning satellite data, is viewed in real time via a computer data link to ground-based monitors.
