TRW to provide weapons bay door drive system on Joint Strike Fighter

Keywords: TRW Aronautical Systems, Aircraft, Weapons

TRW Aeronautical Systems (Lucas Aerospace) (NYSE:TRW) is to provide the weapons bay door drive system for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme.

The company has an agreement with Northrop Grumman to provide the weapons bay door drive system for the Lockheed Martin JSF variant With current market projections for the JSF expected to exceed 3,000 aircraft, the potential value of the award to TRW Aeronautical Systems, including prototype and production hardware, is expected to exceed $600 million over the life of the programme.

TRW also been awarded contracts from Dassault Aviation, St. Cloud, France, to supply both the hydro mechanical flap and airbrake systems and the electrical power generation and management system for Dassault's new three-engine Falcon 7X long- range business jet. The combined value of the contracts is estimated at$350 million, including OE production for a projected 400 aircraft and aftermarket support over the life of the programme. TRW will support the Falcon 7X programme with full systems integration on both contracts.

The company will provide the complete flap system, which modifies the lift of the aircraft on take-off and landing. The system is comprised of a cockpit control lever that signals a power drive unit to provide output torque via transmission shafting to power the flap surface actuators on the wings. TRW will also supply the complete airbrake system, which reduces the lift of the wing and the forward speed of the aircraft while increasing the descent rate thus slowing the aircraft on descent.