Achieving Military Standards

Airex serves aerospace markets

Military projects require absolute reliability. They often operate in high-temperature environments and require extreme temperature stability. Pinpoint accuracy is a key design feature for typical end-user devices. Uniformity and unit-to-unit repeatability attributes are essential to complex field deployments. Efficiency reduces the amount of energy required in the application, which can reduce weight at the point of use.

The quality of our components for military applications becomes a key feature in the protection of our war fighters. The difference between life and death can manifest in accuracy outpacing speed when assessing the performance of military devices. Our procedures are well established in the successful development and manufacturing of dozens of military projects over several decades. Airex designs have produced critical solutions for the most demanding applications.

Our expertise in electromagnetics continues to support efficiency and accuracy in a variety of ways for military systems. For example, a voice coil developed to cool the operating electronics to minus 150 degrees C needs to perform instantaneously in that environment when an incoming missile is bearing down on your vehicle.

Military standards necessitate exact execution, which is where customized robotic winding machines designed for the intricacies of electromagnetics perform at the top degree of accuracy.

Airex serves military markets

Benefit from Airex Expertise

Military programs from unmanned undersea vehicles to drone aircraft to strategic missiles rely on the exceptional accuracy and efficiency of Airex products. Our components are manufactured and assembled in-house to military standards, quickly. For example, a flexure-based, multiple degree-of-freedom voice coil actuator was developed for a fast-steering mirror used in both offensive and defensive weapons systems. The design mandated low loss windings with an extremely efficient thermal path. Our focused magnet system allowed the required performance within a very limited electrical power budget.

Career Highlights

  • The Naval Undersea Laboratory relied on our expertise for the design and prototyping of a low-cogging, 200 HP electric motor to enable stealth operation in short-range torpedo propulsion systems.
  • An Airex low-cogging design was implemented for a “quiet” propulsion motor for an unmanned commercial vehicle (UUV) used in military undersea exploration.
  • Airex components are specified on the Joint Strike Fighter program delivering expertise to the most advanced military aircraft in modern history.
  • A Navy program at China Lake tested Airex motors in an innovative fin steering application for airborne missiles 
  • Automated winding processes and test windings were produced for the USAF on SFIR magnetic components for the Peacekeeper and Trident missile programs.
  • Airex active magnetic bearings demonstrated inter-satellite communications capabilities for SATCOM low earth orbit constellations.
  • Airex engineers developed specialized stack coating and inspection methods for the Navy’s 10 PIGA guidance system torque motor stator.

Ready to connect on how Airex can address your specific needs?