Ground Subsystem for UK Defence Training

Cubic Corporation’s Cubic Mission and Performance Solutions (CMPS) business division won a contract to deliver a P5 Combat Training System (P5CTS) ground subsystem with live monitoring to support Royal Air Force (RAF) training and a Royal Navy (RN) Carrier Strike Group (CSG) exercise, taking place in the United Kingdom this fall.

P5CTS provides secure, tailorable and scalable instrumentation solutions that best support warfighter needs in air-to-air, air-to-ground and surface-to-air combat training missions.  All partner F-35s are equipped with the P5 Internal Subsystem (IS), that provides encrypted Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation (ACMI) for coalition military forces to train on a common platform. To date, over 600 F-35 P5 IS have been delivered to Lockheed Martin, with the majority of those currently installed and flying on U.S. and partner F-35s.

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Cubic’s P5CTS ground subsystem is the first to be exported for training for the F-35, allowing multiple range service providers the ability to integrate the RN and RAF F-35 into its range training systems. The P5CTS ground subsystem enables the live monitoring and management of P5-equipped aircraft with a single ground station and remote range unit. These ground stations can be upgraded with an encryption module for the live monitoring of F-35s carrying P5 IS. The P5 ground station upgrade, referred to as Block 4A in the U.S., has been installed at six U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy bases. The Block 4A fielding plan currently includes an additional 18 encryption modules (EM) for the U.S. Air Force and 15 EMs for the U.S. Navy for training range upgrades.

The ground subsystem is a foundational element for air combat training exercises as it will enable combined training for squadrons from the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and U.K. partner nations. It incorporates the Individual Combat Aircrew Display System (ICADS), which supports individual pilot debriefs at home stations or mass debriefings in theater environments.  The ground subsystem will be installed by Cubic at the Ministry of Defence Hebrides Range and will add another training range to P5CTS’ global network.