IBC Advanced Alloys Corp. reports it has new purchase orders from defense giant Raytheon Technologies for beryllium-alloy parts for the Advanced Targeting Forward Looking Infrared (ATFLIR) system, for the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft. The investment casting and forged parts producer indicated the orders are worth over $1.0 million.
Other terms of the contract were not announced.
The F/A-18 Super Hornet is a multi-role fighter aircraft produced by Boeing Defense.
IBC Advanced Alloys is the parent company for IBC Engineered Materials Division, an investment caster in Wilmington, MA. IBC Engineered Materials has previously produced beryllium-aluminum investment castings as azimuth gimbal housings for the Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS) of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.
The ATFLIR is a laser-based target-locating technology that integrates EO and IR sensors and can pass tracking and targeting information to other nodes in a networked battlespace, with speed and precision.
“We are very pleased to have been chosen by Raytheon to manufacture these high-performance beryllium-alloy components for the F/A-18 Super Hornet’s ATFLIR system,” stated IBC chairman and CEO Mark Smith. “The extraordinary cost-effectiveness of IBC’s near-net-shape beryllium-aluminum casting technology continues to attract more business to the company from both defense and commercial manufacturers.
“Our team is especially proud to be able to manufacture these strategic components in a manner that strengthens U.S. national defense capabilities and helps to reduce costs to the U.S. Department of Defense,” Smith added.