Moog Gets Lift From Air Tractor

Moog Inc.’s Space and Defense Group unveiled its Integrated Stores Management and Delivery System (ISMDS) at Le Bourget, the 49th International Paris Air Show. The system, designed and built by Moog, is targeted to contractors developing new military and paramilitary aircraft as well as governments interested in refurbishing and retrofitting both rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft. 

The new Moog ISMDS consists of several components including:
• Stores management/mission computer;
• An armament control panel;
• Airborne mapping system;
• Targeting pod housing assembly;
• Pylon launch; and
• Rail launch capability.

The Moog ISMDS provides the customer with a fully integrated solution. The Moog-designed and built stores management computer monitors what is attached to each pylon and communicates that to the pilot via the armament control panel located within the cockpit. The armament control panel is compatible with night vision goggles, so a pilot can deploy weapons at any time. The ISMDS also includes a pod-housing assembly that contains a targeting pod for acquiring an object and sending the coordinates to the stores management computer.  Once the pod acquires the target, Moog’s airborne mapping system projects the target location onto a map with an appropriate Launch Acceptability Region (LAR) defined.

The Moog ISMDS has been integrated into an Air Tractor AT-802U, a single engine turboprop aircraft designed for surveillance, precision strike and rugged dirt-strip utility missions. 

“The AT-802U is a military version of an aircraft used for crop dusting and firefighting,” says Michael Brunner, business development manager for Moog Space and Defense Group. “It has a lot of range and it’s a rugged aircraft.”

Moog recently sold a significant quantity of its new ISMDS to a U.S.-based contractor that integrated these systems with the AT-802U for sale to a foreign government.

“The ISMDS is very modular,” adds Brunner.  “For example, the baseline design can manage 1-7 weapon stations and the electric ejector racks in the pylon can accommodate any standard 14" NATO lug.  A rocket or rail launch system can be integrated if desired.  Several weapons have already been integrated with the Moog system.”