Story ID: 
Marotta offers signal processing controller 
By: Reuben F. Johnson
Caption: Marotta Controls (Hall 3 Stand D12) is unveiling two new products at Le Bourget that represent innovative solutions to long-standing problems presented by 
Word Count: 229
Marotta Controls (Hall 3 Stand D12) is unveiling two new products at Le Bourget that represent innovative solutions to long-standing problems presented by modern military aircraft operations. One of the two products is a dual-channel, high voltage, digital signal processing (DSP) controller that has been selected by what Marotta called an “international fighter program,” which is presumed to be the Lockheed Martin F-35, although company officials will not comment on which aircraft is going to be fitted with this device. This controller will be employed in the thermal management of the aircraft and will be in direct interface with the major on-board systems, which addresses the problems of cooling avionics and on-board computers.

The second item is the M-PACT missile seeker cooling unit. Although this product is built in more than one version, one of the models being shown at Le Bourget is the M-PACT 3000. This is specifically designed to provide continuous cooling for the AIM-9L/M model Sidewinder air-to-air missile by using pure air rather than the traditional method of cooling with liquid nitrogen.

“This markedly simplifies the problem of cooling in infrared seekers,” explained a Marotta spokesman, “by eliminating all of the tubing, weight, space and so forth required to distribute liquid nitrogen throughout the aircraft.” Currently, this system is used on-board the F/A-18E/F.