US Marine fighters in Pacific use Raytheon technology for precision landing

U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II fighters aboard the USS Wasp amphibious assault ship in the Pacific Ocean are using Raytheon Company’s technology to guide them.

Specifically, the fighters are using Raytheon’s Intelligence, Information and Services business’s Joint Precision Approach and Landing System (JPALS) to guide them onto the ship’s deck in all weather and surface conditions in extremely rough waters.

Through GPS receivers and an encrypted datalink, the Raytheon system facilitates precise landings.

“We’re asking our pilots to land in some of the most difficult conditions on Earth,” U.S. Navy Captain B. Joseph Hornbuckle III, program manager, Naval Air Traffic Management Systems Program Office, said. “JPALS goes a long way toward ensuring the safety of our aircrews and the success of our missions.”

JPAL’s navigation is also effective ashore as the company has a land-based version of the system.

“Deploying with the F-35 is a good start, but it’s just the beginning,” Matt Gilligan, Raytheon vice president of Navigation, Weather, and Services, said. “There are many fixed and rotary wing aircraft around the world and across the services that deploy to harsh, low-visibility environments where JPALS would be extremely valuable.”

Raytheon officials said that the system is slated to go into production in 2019.