Submitted by the F/A-18 Public Affairs Office

The first demonstration flight of the High Pressure Pure Air Generator (HiPPAG) integrated on the LAU-127 Launcher was successfully completed 14 October on the F/A-18E10 aircraft at the Naval Air Warfare Center, Patuxent River, Maryland.

The HiPPAG system is effectively an "electric gas bottle" which provides a continuous source of pure gas that cryogenically cools the infrared detector in the AIM-9L/M sidewinder missiles. The demonstration flight was the first flight of a HiPPAG system integrated with the LAU-127 Missile Rail Launcher (MRL) on the F/A-18E/F aircraft.

The HiPPAG demonstration flight is the first step in a program to resolve an operational limitation identified on the F/A-18E/F during Operation Test IIB (OTIIB). The F/A-18E/F has a maximum turn around time operational requirement. Wingtip mounted AIM-9 missiles on a LAU-127 launcher use a nitrogen bottle to cool the missile. If the bottle is used it usually needs to be changed after every flight. This results in excessive turn around time for the aircraft, especially on the carrier flight deck where re-spotting may be necessary. The real winner is the flight deck sailor who will no longer have to perform a dangerous task on a daily basis.

The solution to this problem is the HiPPAG. The HiPPAG-320 system was qualified in 1994 for use on the USMC AV-8B, and AH-1W with the LAU-7/C/A Launcher, and has demonstrated high reliability in service on these aircraft. The HiPPAG unit is manufactured by Ultra Electronics of Cheltenham, United Kingdom and could be integrated off-the-shelf with only minor modifications for use on the LAU-127 MRL on the F/A-18E/F. The program to demonstrate and qualify the HiPPAG on the LAU-127 MRL is being funded by the Department of Defense Foreign Comparative Test (FCT) Program.

Ultra Electronics is working in concert with the Raytheon Technical Services Company in Indianapolis, Indiana and the Boeing Corporation, St. Louis, Missouri to integrate and qualify the HiPPAG and LAU-127 for use on the F/A-18E/F. The Team successfully completed an Initial Design Review on 2 June.

The F/A-18E/F Integrated Test Team at Patuxent River will be completing the flight test qualification program next summer after putting the HiPPAG through its paces with loads, vibration and missile testing.

Integrated HiPPAG-LAU-127 MRL's are expected to deploy on the F/A-18E/F for the aircraft's first cruise in 2002.

The program's success with would not have happened without the support of Ms. Malyna Swyter and Ms. Cindy Gill of AIR-2.3.3, Mr. Steve Bullock of AIR-1.4, Mr. Bill Arndt and Mr. Dick Brown of PMA201, and the many members of the F/A-18E/F Air Vehicle and Integrated Test Teams.