MX-25D Targeting Pod
Mace Aviation designed, fabricated, and assembled a long range targeting pod for the L3 Communications Wescam MX-25D, carrying full design and analysis responsibility from concept through flight test.
The Challenge
The U.S. Army needed to integrate the MX-25D, a long range electro-optical and infrared targeting and designating system, onto two different airframes: the AH-64 Apache and the UH-60 Black Hawk. That meant a pod structure capable of handling the loads and environment of both platforms, backed by an analysis package thorough enough to support an official flight clearance.
What Mace Built
Mace’s engineering team completed the full design and structural analysis of the pod, then generated the complete analysis report needed to support issuance of a U.S. Army Airworthiness Release (AWR) for both the Apache and the Black Hawk. The pod’s primary structural elements are machined from 7050 aluminum for strength and fatigue performance, with an exterior built from a mix of stiffened and unstiffened carbon fiber and epoxy fairings to control weight while protecting the sensor package inside.
The Outcome
With the AWR in place, the pod completed an initial flight test program aboard an instrumented U.S. Army AH-64E Apache. Every objective of the flight test program was met, and the results underscored the performance of the MX-25D sensor on this new mount.
Have a similar sensor integration or airworthiness challenge? Contact Mace Aviation to talk through your program.
