Improved Seats

Martin-Baker Aircraft Co. Ltd. has been competitively selected to build new ejection seats for each of 509 T-38 Talon advanced jet trainers in service with the US Air Force Air Education and Training Command. The seats are designed to significantly improve the life saving capability of the T-38 escape system.

The program is expected to retrofit the entire fleet over the next 9 years is potentially worth in excess of $200 million. The new seat will accommodate the greatly expanded male and female pilot population size range and guarantee technical and logistic support for the next 40 years. Martin Baker ejection seats have saved over 7100 pilots overall, and 15 this year.

The ejection seat, the US16T, is similar to that used in the Eurofighter Typhoon now entering service with the RAF and is virtually identical to that which Martin-Baker supplied to NASA to re-equip all of the Space Agency's T-38s that are used for astronaut training.

"NASA is a very discerning customer and the experience that we gained on that program undoubtedly helped position the company to be able to offer a winning proposal to the Air Force," said Joint Managing Director, James Martin.

Initially, minor changes will be made to meet Air Force special requirements, such as a modified inter-seat sequence system to enable the instructor to eject both the pupil and himself. The escape system will then undergo a rigorous test program that includes fully representative ejections (with instrumented dummies) from a T-38 fuselage travelling at 700 mph along a special track.

Production is scheduled to commence at Denham in late 2006. Depending on quantities ordered, work will be transferred to the Martin-Baker America plant in Johnstown, Pennsylvania - a wholly owned subsidiary of the UK parent Company. It is intended that eventually the work will be shared between the UK and US plants.

FMI: www.martin-baker.com