Call it shock and awe, call it fallout from the sound of freedom, but the noise level associated with an F/A-18E/F Super Hornet passing overhead on a training mission is a fact of life for communities situated near active naval air stations.

That is why NAVAIR Lakehurst and the National Center of Physical Acoustics (NCPA), a research center of the University of Mississippi, have recently signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the objective of reducing community noise associated with the Super Hornet conducting Field Carrier Landing Practice (FCLP) training missions.

“As communities grow and develop around existing air stations, difficulties can arise when routine performance of training operations at the air station is perceived as a disruption within the community,” explained CAPT Mark Bathrick, NAVAIR Lakehurst Commanding Officer. “It’s a problem called encroachment, and the Department of Defense now faces significant training operational constraints as a result.”

The Navy hopes noise reduction technologies will help mitigate the possibility of tension developing between established naval air stations and their ever increasing neighbors. That is why the collaborative effort between NAVAIR Lakehurst and the NCPA will evaluate concepts for jet noise suppression for military aircraft. Their objective is to validate at full-scale the noise reduction potential of concepts developed with one-tenth scale model testing and evaluate impact on aero-performance of these concepts.

“NAVAIR Lakehurst has extensive expertise, capabilities and information in aircraft engine operation and performance measurement,” said Hans Kohler, Deputy Director of the NAVAIR Business Development Office, “and the NCPA’s mission is to maintain a vigorous acoustic research program to insure a national source of expertise, innovations and technology transfer to solve problems for our society.”

That makes both organizations ideal partners for the task at hand, according to Kohler. Another plus: “This partnership is an excellent opportunity for us to allow the private sector access to our unique facilities,” Kohler said.

The facilities he referred to are located at the Outdoor Engine Test Site on station at NAVAIR Lakehurst. Engine testing will be conducted on the turntable stand at the site, which is remotely located and not likely to cause concern to the communities surrounding the station.

“Our site’s remote location is ideal,” emphasized CAPT Bathrick. “We can test the noise suppression concepts without disturbing the peace of our surrounding neighbors.”

Data collected from the testing will serve as a valuable resource for further full-scale studies involving flight tests to be proposed at a later time, reported Kohler. “The Navy will be able to observe the engine performance impacts of noise suppression concepts before any flight tests are undertaken,” he said.

In addition, the NCPA will expand its knowledge of viable solutions to reduce jet engine noise with possible application to commercial aircraft as well as that of other military aircraft.