Cubic to Deliver P5 Combat Training System for the F-35

U.S. Marines with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), guide ordnance toward an F-35B Lightning II aboard the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2), Sept. 22, 2018. Cubic Mission and Performance Solutions will provide two more production lots of the P5 Combat Training System for the F-35. U.S. Marine Corps / Cpl. Francisco J. Diaz Jr.

SAN DIEGO —Cubic Mission and Performance Solutions (CMPS) business division was awarded a contract worth $32 million from Lockheed Martin for two more production lots of the P5 Combat Training System (P5CTS) for the F-35 Lightning II, Cubic announced in a Feb. 19 release.

Under the contract, Cubic will deliver over 150 training subsystems for Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation (ACMI) system. This new order increases the total number of F-35 P5 on contract to over 1,150 and ensures fielding of F-35 P5 out to 2025. 

Unlike traditional P5 podded solutions for fourth-generation fighter aircraft, the F-35 P5 is an internal subsystem configuration that relays time, space and position information between participating aircraft and range ground stations during training sorties.  

“Our advanced and interoperable P5CTS is used on more than 30 ranges worldwide and continues to set the standard for joint, multiservice and coalition training,” said Mike Knowles, president of Cubic Mission and Performance Solutions. “Training for today’s advanced threats to air combat operations requires adaptable, high-fidelity training tools. Cubic’s P5CTS provides secure and scalable instrumentation solutions that enable integrated fourth- and fifth-generation training for our U.S. forces, allies and partners.” 

The worldwide P5 infrastructure includes the integration of P5 pods and internal subsystems, ground stations and software, and is an investment shared by 17 countries.  A recent upgrade to this training infrastructure is the integration of decryptors in the P5 ground stations to enable F-35 live monitoring at training ranges. 

Cubic and its principal subcontractor, Leonardo DRS, will continue to produce and maintain the F-35 P5 internal subsystem. The Leonardo DRS Airborne and Intelligence Systems business division is responsible for the design and production of the airborne P5CTS Internal Subsystem. 

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