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Pneumatic Release Equipment

Contact Andy Buchan, Manager, Business Development
Weapons Carriage and Release (Americas)

Next Generation Pneumatic Ejector Rack

Current pyrotechnic Ejection Rack systems impose high Operational and Support (O&S) cost due to consumables (such as pyrotechnic cartridges), and intensive maintenance. Reliability is also compromised due to the effects of the hot, highly corrosive gas used to operate the racks.  Handling of the hazardous waste created during the cleaning process as well as cartridge service life tracking further increases the maintenance costs.  Additionally, pyrotechnic rack performance is inconsistent, complicating bomb trajectory predictions and safe store separation.

Pneumatic Ejection Rack technology eliminates these and other concerns by essentially replacing the pyrotechnic cartridge breech assembly with a pneumatic valve/accumulator assembly, which uses cold, dry air as the working fluid.  With reduced internal peak pressures, the design is further refined by the use of lighter weight components and a substantially reduced parts count.  Comparison testing has shown that variance in end of stroke velocity can be reduced by over 70% while reducing the overall force imparted to the aircraft and/or store by over 25%.  Using a "bottoms-up" reliability assessment process, the pneumatic rack provides 3 to 6 times greater reliability than existing systems.

Next Generation Smart Multiple Ejector Rack (SMER®)

Multiple ejector rack systems have also been developed using pneumatic technology. A 4-place MIL-STD-1760 Smart Weapon compatible ejector rack has recently been built and flight-tested on F-16 and F-111 aircraft with great success. Pneumatic rack technology is particularly well suited to multi-rack systems eliminating all rack related flight line activities except weapons loading. Various configurations can be designed depending on weapons load out requirements and intended aircraft platform.

Pneumatic Ejector Rack Informational Flyers