CAD/PAD are essential components (pyrotechnics) used in the emergency crew’s evacuation system (Martin-Baker MK16-US16E ejection seats). The equipment was urgently required to assure F-35 air missions.
The F-35 Joint Program Office tasked NSPA and funded the effort, with the CAD/PAD Joint Program responding to the requirement through the NSPA Ammunition Support Partnership. This required collecting 142 pallets of CAD/PADs at the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) facility (Martin-Baker Aircraft, UK) and delivering them to the Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division (NSWC IH). Within only a few weeks, NSPA charted an airliner and coordinated with multiple stakeholders the delivery of these critical components.