ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 17, 2018 – Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and Universal Synaptics Corporation signed an agreement to help the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) tackle an issue known as intermittent fault anomaly. A new automated testing technology, developed by Universal Synaptics, called Intermittent Fault Detection discovers random fault anomalies in multi-domain platform electronics as well as wiring harnesses. This issue currently drives an estimated $2 billion in annual DoD maintenance costs.

This system increases platform mission capable rates by eliminating unnecessary follow-on maintenance and proactively addressing emerging issues. This new capability isolates each intermittent fault and provides easy-to-follow maintenance actions for the maintainer to return the unit back into service. 

In addition to mission capable improvements, eliminating intermittent failures will dramatically reduce sustainment costs by keeping platforms operating and decreasing repairs and supply support.

“This new capability is groundbreaking, and we’re tremendously excited to help the DoD address a challenge costing them billions,” said Laura Frank, vice president of Lockheed Martin Enterprise Sustainment Solutions. “Resolving intermittence in electronics is a discriminator for the DoD in achieving an 80-percent Mission Capable rate across platforms.”

Together, the team will identify solutions for the DoD with the Intermittent Fault Detection & Isolation System 2.0™ (IFDIS2™), the Voyager Intermittent Fault Detector™ (VIFD™) and the associated Interface and Application (IA) solutions. This next-generation, integrated system is used to detect intermittent faults in nearly any piece of electronic equipment or wiring on any platform including F-22, F-16, F-35, F/A-18, rotary platforms such as the UH-60 as well as land and sea platforms.

“This partnership aligns our collective goals of reducing No Fault Found and increasing warfighter readiness by eradicating intermittent faults,” said Ken Anderson, Universal Synaptics Corporation President and CEO. “Together we will define a new era of advanced test capabilities and reset test equipment performance expectations for the DoD Maintenance Enterprise.”

Lockheed Martin is a proven provide of effective automatic test systems for the F-35 Lightning II, the F-16 Block 60, F-22 and AH-65. For additional information, visit www.lockheedmartin.com.

About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 100,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. This year the company received three Edison Awards for ground-breaking innovations in autonomy, satellite technology and directed energy.

About Universal Synaptics Corporation
Universal Synaptics Corporation is the industry leader in detecting and isolating elusive intermittent faults with a line of Intermittent Fault Detector (IFD) investigation tools. It was founded in 1996 by Brent Sorensen, a test engineer and inventor with more than 30 years of experience as a pioneer of aging electronics science. The company’s research into the primary root causes of intermittent / No Fault Found (NFF) problems and the massive digital testing void that exists today with conventional test equipment, led to the development of the patented Intermittent Fault Detector (IFD), hardware neural network and all-lines-all-the-time wiring/circuit analyzer test solutions. www.usynaptics.com