General Dynamics News, Volume 22, Number 18, September 17, 1969 Page: 2 of 6
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Page 2 GENERAL DYNAMICS NEWS Wednesday, September 1 7, 1 969
17-
TYPICAL TASKS-Electronics-SD activity is highly varied though confined to two
major product lines. Photos, from left, show Don R. Greenawalt checking F-111
doppler radar test station; Stanley Adams (front) and W. L. Tate working on REINS
Electronics-SD Develops Variety
Of Military and Civilian ProductsElectronics division's San Diego
operations, with 950 employes
and 280,000 square feet of space
in four buildings at Lindbergh
Field, is one of four operating
elements of the Electronics divi-
sion. The San Diego operations
(Electronics-SD) expects to reach
about $25 million in systems and
product sales this year.
With capability in total systems
design and specialized hardware
development, Electronics-SD is
engaged in a variety of system
programs and new product de-
velopment both for defense and
non-defense applications.
Major product lines are sensor
(including airborne radar, ground
surveillance radar, and special
programs) and instrumentation
(including range instrumentation
systems, spaceborne electronics,
and information systems).
Electronics-SD has produced
more than 100 Radar Equipped
Inertial Navigation S y s t e m
(REINS) units for Navy RA-5C
aircraft and has 48 under con-
tract for delivery in 1969 and
1970.
Small lightweight AN/APN-
170 Terrain Following Radar
(TFR) systems, 33 inches long
and eight inches in diameter,
have been produced since 1966.
A total of 165 have been de-
livered to the United Kingdom for
use on Royal Air Force aircraft
and several have been used on
classified U. S. programs.
The TFR system, weighing only
58 pounds, can be nose or pod
mounted and can enable any con-
trollable-flight vehicle to be flown
at earth-hugging altitudes under
low visibility conditions. Ells-
worth Snyder and Roger Olson
are key technical personnel on the
program.
Electronics-SD also is working
on TFR variations for possible
use in a new Air Force missile
program.
New developments being car-
ried forward under general super-
vision of T. G. Hame, manager
of research and technology, in-
clude the Forward Looking Light
Attack Radar (FLLAR) system.
This radar can provide simultan-
eous terrain avoidance, terrain
following, and ground mapping.
Obstacles in the flight path above
selected flight altitude can be
shown in a white "iceberg" dis-
play or three-dimensional eleva-
tion and range contours can be
shown in a "shades of grey" dis-
play.
Such terrain displays can per-
mit blind flying inside canyon
walls. Air-to-ground ranging,
ground moving-target indication,
airborne instrumented landing as-
sist, weather mapping, and beacon
navigation capabilities can be
added. John Hakes is project man-
ager.
A "breadboard" FLLAR unit
has been undergoing tests at the
Naval Electronics Laboratory
Center in San Diego and pro-
gram personnel hope to have the
system tested next year on the
Army's twin-engine Mohawk all-
weather reconnaissance aircraft.
FLLAR also has potential missile
applications.One of Electronics-SD's small-
est "packages" is a microminia-
ture radar altimeter for pre-
cision altitude measurement that
is about the size of two cigarette
packages and weighs slightly
more than a pound. Bill Sadler
and Alex Christie have been in
charge of its development.
An AN/PPS-10 ground surveil-
lance radar, weighing less than
10 pounds, has been undergoing
field testing in Viet Nam (GD/
NEWS, April 30). George Eaton
is program manager.
A tunnel-detection radar being
developed for the Army's Re-
search and Development Center
in Fort Belvoir, Va., also is be-
ing tested in Viet Nam after be-
ing developed under Sadler's di-
rection.
The WEED intrusion detection
system senses man-size objects
entering its omnidirectional field
and can be monitored by remote
receivers. It can be used either as
a security or intelligence device.
More advanced systems based
on the WEED concept are being
developed now for military uses.
A metal detector under develop-
ment also is an outgrowth of the
WEED program. John Gehman
was given one of the division's in-
ventors awards in May, 1969, for
Prim Manages
Electronics-SD
Donald C. Prim, manager of
Electronics division's San Diego
operations since 1964, served with
General Dynamics' former Astro-
nautics division from 1954 to 1964in positions
ranging f r o m
senior electron-
ics engineer to
program direc-
tor-electronic
programs.
During that
time, he helped
design A t l a s
missile check-
out equipment
and supervisedD. C. Prim development of
the AZUSA Mark II tracking sys-
tem, the GLOTRAC tracking sys-
tem, the OV1 scientific satellite,
and LUNAR and MISTRAM
transponders.
As a Convair design engineer
from 1951 to 1953, he worked on
the DORAN and AZUSA Mark 1
tracking systems, the Atlas ra-
dio inertial guidance system, and
the F-102 fire control system.
Key personnel on Prim's Elec-
tronics-SD staff include F. J.
Hickey, assistant to the manager;
D. A. Rich, legal counsel; J. F.
Langston, long-range planning;
T. H. Scholder and F. P. Stoklas,
programs managers; G. W.
Leesch, industrial relations man-
ager; E. J. Illes, marketing man-
ager; T. C. Courington, contracts
manager.
C. H. Wychgram, assistant con-
troller; R. H. Nicholson, quality
control manager; G. G. Prentice,
operations manager; and R. F.
Reese, engineering director.units; Eugene Rope probing wave-front in anechoic chamber used in radome, an-
tenna, and holography research. New systems and specialized "hardware" are be-
ing developed for military and non-military uses.developing the WEED concept.
Artillery and mortar location
detectors are among other new
products under study. Award of
a research contract from the Air
Force is expected for expanded
study of new detection and loca-
tion techniques developed by Jim
Crooks.
Personnel at Electronics-SD
have built more transponders for
missile and space applications
than any other firm in the U. S.
- ranging from those used on
early ICBMs to those for the Air
Force MISTRAM missile trajec-
tory measurement system and the
current Space-Ground Link Sys-
tem (SGLS) units for use in
classified Air Force programs.
Electronics-SD also is known as
one of the nation's leaders in de-
velopment of radomes - largely
through the efforts of Gus Tri-
coles - and has several current
study, development, and test con-
tracts for new advanced tech-
niques in aircraft and missile ra-
dome design.
Electronics-SD personnel, many
of them formerly with Convair,
developed the AZUSA tracking
system for the Air Force Eastern
Test Range and the GLOTRAC
networks for NASA. In addition,
precision satellite tracking tech-
nology and hardware have been
developed for the NASA-God-
dard Range and Range-Rate sys-
tem and for the Apollo Instru-
mentation Ships.
Production of aerospace ground
equipment (AGE) for the F-111
program under subcontracts from
Fort Worth division and Electron-
ics-Rochester also is a major ac-
tivity at Electronics-SD.
Apollo command module latch
assembly installations have been
fabricated under subcontract from
North American.
Photofabrication of electronic
circuitry and forming of many
small "hardware" parts is an im-
portant part of the organization's
production activity.
Electronics - SD's information
systems work is highly diversi-
fied, covering military and non-
military applications, and involves
systems analysis, design, and pro-
duction of equipment to interface
between computers and displays.
Largest current effort in this
product line is development of the
PANAMAC world-wide reserva-
tions system and data system for
Pan American Airways. Initial
configuration of hardware is be-
ing developed under a $650,000.
contract. Richard Brenning is
project manager.
D. M. Festa, manager of mar-
keting and business information
systems, conducted a two-week
scientific management systems
course in July for a management
systems task force at Miramar
Naval Air Station, San Diego.
Other information systems pro-
ducts include precision time gen-
erators for tracking and data pro-
cessing systems and teletype ad-
dress reading devices for tele-
type circuit message control.
Electronics-SD has 346 engi-
neering personnel, 376 in opera-
tions departments, and 232 in sup-
port functions.FABRICATION - Pat Scates, electronics fabricator, works on
Space-Ground Link System (SGLS) receiver.=.i
MINIATURE-W. G. Sadler, left, displays radar altimeter; Ardise
Rawlins of microcircuit lab, right, uses chip bonder to attach tiny
component to miniature circuit boards.
ASSEMBLY-Circuit boards and small subassemblies are pre-
pared for REINS units in electronics assembly area. Forty-eight units
on order will bring total to more than 150.czc.
Page 2
GENERAL DYNAMICS NEWS
Wednesday, September 17, 1969
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General Dynamics Corporation. Convair Division. General Dynamics News, Volume 22, Number 18, September 17, 1969, periodical, September 17, 1969; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1168233/m1/2/?rotate=90: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, Fort Worth.