December 3, 2020 – Clearwater, FL. McCormick Stevenson Corporation (MCCST) has successfully demonstrated 25,000-g gun-launch survival of their iCAS, a highly integrated Guidance Navigation and Control (GNC) system in a medium caliber ammunition envelope. The GNC, depicted below, contains a Guidance Electronics Unit (GEU) and Control Actuation System (CAS) providing inertial sensing, guidance processing, independent control of a 4-canard actuation system, and a wide-band dual channel software defined radio transceiver. The technology was developed by McCormick Stevenson and their subcontractors over a 3-year period through a DARPA-sponsored Gun-launched Integrated Guidance Navigation and Control (GNC) Direct to Phase II Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) project.
The Highly Integrated iCAS GNC
The iCAS innovation, demonstrated in a 40mm package, is scalable to other sizes. Its various functions can be re-configured as necessary to meet the needs of alternate precision-guided, gun-launched munitions currently in development. These next generation munitions must be capable of countering fast- moving, agile incoming threats by adjusting (guiding) their flight path to rapidly close on and neutralize the threat.
“Defense against agile targets presents two major challenges: (1) target tracking and (2) delivery of effects to the tracked target set. Guided projectile technology, and specifically this program’s iCAS product, provide a solution to (2) above,” stated Scott Dellicker, Director of Combat Solutions at Draper. “The iCAS encompasses GEU and CAS functions within a single hardware product to minimize size, weight, and power (SWaP), and to enable successful prosecution of target engagement.”
“We are pleased to achieve this significant technical goal in service to the defense mission. The success of the iCAS system is a testament to our team’s ability to solve the technology challenges inherent in a state-
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of-the-art hi-g-capable GNC,” remarked McCormick Stevenson President Noel McCormick. “We look forward to working with our partners to extend and enhance iCAS capability in service to our warfighters need for precision guided munitions.”
MCCST previously received a “Very Good” (Purple) Contractor Performance Assessment Rating (CPAR) from DARPA for performance on the iCAS program. For more information, contact Mr. McCormick at noel.mccormick@mccst.com.
This material is based upon work supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) under Contract No. D17PC00145. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA); or its Contracting Agent, the U.S. Department of the Interior, Interior Business Center, Acquisition Services Directorate, Division III.
About McCormick Stevenson
At McCormick Stevenson we embrace a simple but noble purpose – to Defend Human Liberty – a mission we execute through service to America’s warfighters and as manifest through two core business units:
Armament & Electronic Systems (AES) – Offering engineering expertise focused on the military product development enterprise, ranging from comprehensive system engineering to component design and documentation.
Manufacturing & Test Systems (MTS) – Delivering manufacturing engineering services in support of the production mission. Areas of focus include Specialty Equipment, Quality Systems, Mechanical Inspection, Test Systems, and Process Development.
For additional information, visit www.mccst.com
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