lytron recently announced that general dynamics land systems (gdls) has awarded lytron the design and development contract for the u.s. army's future combat systems (fcs) manned ground vehicle (mgv) propulsion heat exchanger packs (phep). fcs is the army's premier modernization program, comprising a networked family of unmanned air vehicles and sensors, and both manned and unmanned ground vehicles that will enable soldiers to perform their missions safely and more effectively.

the phep will provide liquid cooling to the mgv propulsion system and electronics. the heat exchangers are custom designed but will leverage lytron's standard plate-fin heat exchanger technologies. plate-fin heat exchangers are widely used in military, aerospace, and other high performance applications because of their excellent thermal transfer capacity, small size, and low weight. they can be used for air-to-air, air-to-liquid, or liquid-to-liquid cooling. the phep contract includes design, development, and increment 0 hardware requirements with an option for additional increments. it is valued at over $1 million with production potential ranging from $5-$8 million annually.

"lytron is very pleased to have been selected as a gdls partner in developing the vehicles' propulsion heat exchanger packs. we believe that our innovative design, excellence in engineering and manufacturing, customer responsiveness, and 48 years of experience providing thermal solutions were what led to lytron being awarded the contract," notes gerry marino, lytron's military/aerospace business development manager.

lytron has been designing and manufacturing heat exchangers for the military, aerospace, and commercial markets since it was founded in 1958. the company's military experience includes working on the predator uav, f-35 lightening ii aircraft, the black hawk uh-60, f-22 raptor, the himars launcher, and many other programs. lytron offers over 100 standard parts, but primarily partners with military contractors and companies that demand high performance, customized solutions with requirements between 50 and 5,000 parts per year.

lytron's standard and custom heat exchangers, cold plates, and cooling systems are found in the military, aerospace, medical, industrial, analytical, and semiconductor markets. the privately held company has achieved 12 consecutive years of growth and operates with over 180 employees. for more information, please contact lytron at +1-781-933-7300 or visit www.lytron.com.

photo courtesy of bae: the nlos cannon, a fully-automated 155-mm howitzer developed by bae systems, fired its first round on oct. 23, 2006, launching an official firing platform testing and evaluation program that will run through 2008.