High-Tech US Defense Contractor ITT Corporation Switches to Altium Designer for Complex Re-Engineering Projects
Technology Category
- Sensors - Autonomous Driving Sensors
- Sensors - Camera / Video Systems
Applicable Industries
- Electronics
- National Security & Defense
Applicable Functions
- Maintenance
- Product Research & Development
Use Cases
- Perimeter Security & Access Control
- Theft Detection
Services
- System Integration
About The Customer
ITT Corporation, Systems Division provides select government, commercial, and international customers with value-added, total worldwide systems solutions for their defense, communications, command and control, range, spacelift, surveillance, and force protection needs, as well as full logistics support services for facilities and equipment. ITT Systems Division is an ISO 9001:2000-certified business with more than 7,000 employees operating at 99 locations in the United States and 23 countries. As part of its SENSOR contract responsibilities, ITT Systems Division provides depot-level support and software maintenance, and performs Service Life Extension Programs (SLEP) for the US Air Force Space Command’s worldwide network of space surveillance systems.
The Challenge
The Systems Division of ITT Corporation, based in Colorado Springs, USA, is a prime contractor on the US defense program. The division is tasked with sustaining the service of operational systems through progressive re-engineering under the System Engineering and Sustainment Integrator (SENSOR) program. This program covers the Air Force Space Command’s worldwide network of Missile Warning, Missile Defense, and Space Surveillance systems. One of the key projects under this program is the re-engineering of signal processing systems in the AN/FPS-85 phased-array radar system based at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. The radar system, commissioned in the late 1960s, used cutting-edge technology of its time and offered unprecedented tracking capabilities and performance. The current re-engineering process aims to implement the latest technology and techniques to create signal processing electronics that will be at the cutting-edge when the system is commissioned in 2010. This forward-thinking development process places high demands on the ITT development team and the tools they use to create the new signal processing subsystems and operational software.
The Solution
To meet the high demands of the re-engineering process, ITT Systems Division selected Altium Designer for re-engineering the signal processing electronics in the advanced space surveillance system. Altium Designer was chosen due to its comprehensive capabilities, intuitive operation, and ease of learning. Its unified design environment provided ITT Systems Division with the perfect platform to support the innovation required to successfully complete this challenging project. The system allows the engineers to make effective use of the latest electronic devices and design paradigms. Altium Designer has now been deployed through the engineering facilities at ITT Systems Division. The intuitive, unified design flow is allowing development engineers to contribute more to the design while increasing their productivity.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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