Curtiss-Wright Controls received a contract from Lockheed Martin Aeronautics to provide Vortex Compact Network Storage (CNS) subsystems to the C-130J program. The CNS will be deployed as the Network File Server in the U.S. Air Force Air Combat Command’s MC-130J special mission aircraft and the Air Force Special Operations Command HC-130J personnel recovery aircraft. The initial order is valued at $800,000, with a potential lifetime contract value estimated at $7.5 million, Curtiss-Wright said.
Curtiss-Wright’s Vortex CNS is a rugged, conduction-cooled, high-performance network attached storage device that enables critical data to be shared over the aircraft’s internal network. The Vortex CNS supports industry-standard network protocols including CIFS, NFS, HTTP, FTP and PXE. It is designed to optimize file sharing in military platforms deployed in harsh environments. Data is stored securely on solid-state memory and encrypted with the AES-256 algorithm.
Curtiss-Wright Controls’ Electronic Systems division is designing the CNS at its facility in Dayton, Ohio, with manufacturing to take place at the company’s facility in Littleton, Mass. The products will be delivered to Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Marietta, Ga.