In 1996, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center (WR-ALC) put out a bid for repair depot services for the U.S. Air Force’s AN/ALQ-172 Pave Mint Countermeasures System (CMS). Teledyne-MEC, the division of Teledyne Technologies, Inc. that designs, develops and manufactures traveling wave tubes (TWTs) for radar, Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) and communications applications, won the bid. But two years later, when the WR-ALC was ready to send out the first CMS for repair, Teledyne had just closed its Palo Alto facility and no longer had the internal means to repair power supply assemblies.
Right Place, Right Time
Fortunately, dB Control was ready to help out. The company not only had more than a decade of experience designing and manufacturing TWT amplifiers for military airborne and shipboard environments, but also employed several technicians with experience working for Teledyne’s Power Supply Group.
“There was no question that dB Control’s repair depot was equipped to handle these TWTAs,” said Don Carlson, Senior Program Manager with Teledyne. “Plus, they offered competitively priced repair services and were willing to provide comprehensive product testing. This ensured that the Air Force would receive only the most reliable, high-performing systems.”
The AN/ALQ-172 jammer provides the USAF’s B-52H, AC-130U and MC-130H aircraft with electronic countermeasures against airborne and ground-based radar systems and missiles. This fully automated system includes multiband coverage with simultaneous multiple-threat recognition, jamming and threat reprogrammability.
WR-ALC sends its TWT amplifier assemblies to Teledyne’s Rancho Cordova, California facility. Teledyne then sends power supplies needing repair to the dB Control repair depot in Fremont, California. After being repaired, refurbished and integrated with a TWT, the units are forwarded to Teledyne in Warner Robins, Georgia for final integration and assembly. With every power supply dB Control repairs, the company includes a detailed failure report that the U.S. Government’s source inspectors can use for quality analyses.
Reliable ECM for B-52H
Teledyne began using dB Control’s repair depot as their overhaul facility for high voltage power supplies in 1999. Over the last decade, dB Control has repaired more than 900 amplifier assemblies for Teledyne, with a return rate of less than one percent. As the result of being equipped with a reliable ECM system, the USAF can keep its B-52H in service for several more decades.
