694 lives saved to date
April 27, 2022
Collins Aerospace’s family of ACES ejection seats have saved more than 694 lives to date, including two recent ejections.
ACES 5® is back on the road again
February 11, 2022 - With tradeshows being held in-person again, our ejection seat team is excited to showcase the industry’s most advanced ejection seat at several events across the world.
Lessons learned from an F-15 ejection at 2000 feet
June 30, 2021 - Pete Ford, Requirements & Capabilities Director for Raytheon Technologies, discusses his military experience and how ejecting from an F-15 at 2,000 feet has become his "Grasshopper" story.
Experience an up-close view of an ACES 5® test
May 26, 2021 - A recent Defence-Blog.com article featured a uniqe perspective of our ACES 5 ejection seat being tested on the Boeing T-7A Red Hawk.
ACES 5® Featured on Modern Integrated Warfare
April 27, 2021
How have evolving safety criteria affected the development of the ACES 5® ejection seat?
Collins inducts another aircrew member into the Grasshopper Club
March 31, 2021
Chris "Elroy" Stricklin began a new morning ritual on Sept. 15, 2003 — the day after he ejected from his U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds F-16 fighter jet in an ACES II® ejection seat.
The Evolution of the ACES family of ejection seats
November 20, 2020
Thanks to our ACES® II ejection seat, this pilot is safe and lives to fly another day.
Don “Dozer” Borchelt discusses the technological evolution from the ACES II® seat to the ACES 5® next-generation ejection seat.
Collins Aerospace Awarded Sole-Source $700 Million contract for ACES 5(R)
November 20, 2020
Collins was recently awarded a sole-source $700 million firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the delta qualification, production and fielding of a next generation ejection seat for various Air Force aircraft.
ACES Ejection Seat Saves Another Life - 670 and Counting
June 7, 2020
Thanks to our ACES® II ejection seat, this pilot is safe and lives to fly another day.
Continuous Innovation for Aircrew Safety
April 26, 2020
ACES 5’s unique features include a faster deploying drogue parachute and a stability package (STAPAC) to compensate for pitch changes due to varied aircrew weight and aerodynamic effects, thereby reducing the risk for injury.
ACES Team Earns 2019 SAFE Achievement Award
December 31, 2019
While logistics and provisioning support is ongoing, the team completed the four major milestone reviews earlier this year — system verification review, functional configuration audit, production readiness review and physical configuration audit.
A small team of Collins Aerospace employees within our Ejection Seats & Propulsion business in Colorado Springs, Colorado, was honored recently for designing an innovative seat retrofit kit and qualifying it to meet the latest U.S. Air Force airworthiness requirements.
USAF Next Generation Ejection Seat (NGES) Program Announcement
November 19, 2019
The U.S. Air Force recently notified Collins Aerospace of its intent to sole-source the Next Generation Ejection Seat (NGES) program with our ACES 5® ejection seat.
Collins Aerospace 'Grasshopper Award' Recognizes Pilots Saved by an ACES Ejection Seat
October 21, 2019
If unfortunate events happen, it’s good to know Collins Aerospace and ACES are there for aircrew who are born to fly so they can eject safely and live to walk away.
When then-U.S. Air Force (USAF) Lt. Col. Bob Harvey took off in his F-16 for a training mission at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina on Nov. 19, 1998, he had no idea he wouldn’t be landing as usual. Almost at the very instant he raised his landing gear, his engine immediately shut down.
ACES 5® is on the road - come see us
September 8, 2019
With recent appearances at SAFE EU and the Paris Air Show, the ACES 5 ejection seat and team have been a busy.
B-2 Bomber Ejection Seat Upgrade - Collins Aerospace ACES Seat Kits On Track for Delivery This Summer
July 11, 2019
Collins Aerospace has conducted several major reviews on the upgraded version of its ACES II ejection seat for the U.S. Air Force’s Safety and Sustainment Improvement Program (SSIP) for B-2 bombers. After closing out final action items, deliveries are on track to begin this summer.
Add Another to Lives Saved - ACES Ejection Seat Caught On Camera
June 26, 2019 - Credited with saving more than 664 lives since 1978, another ACES save can be added to that counter when a pilot had to eject from a F-16.
Meet ACES 5® Team Member John "Barney" Fyfe
April 26, 2019
In our first profile, meet John "Barney" Fyfe. As Director of Air Force Programs, Barney interfaces with US and international Air Forces, Joint Staff and the Office of the Secretary of Defense to promote safety and awareness of ACES 5.
Collins Aerospace to Provide ACES 5® Ejection Seat and Landing Gear System for Boeing T-X Trainer
January 31, 2019
When the U.S. Air Force flies its new advanced pilot trainer from Boeing and Saab, it will be equipped with an ACES 5® ejection seat from Collins Aerospace, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), along with a fully integrated landing gear system.
Collins Aerospace to Start B-2A SSIP Seat Deliveries This Year
January 21, 2019
United Technologies Corp (UTC) will start deliveries this year of its upgraded ejection seat for the Northrop Grumman B-2A Spirit bomber, according to a company spokesman.
Media Cover Successful ACES 5® Sled Test Held at Hurricane Mesa
November 7, 2018
The ACES 5 team recently completed the latest in a series of tests. To simulate realistic conditions, the rocket-powered test rig accelerated to 600 KEAS (Knots Equivalent Airspeed) before successfully ejecting two advanced flight test manikins on ACES 5 seats. Several media outlets joined, resulting in the coverage below.
U.S. Air Force Chooses Boeing-Saab Team to Provide New T-X Training Jets
September 27, 2018
After a spirited competition, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) has selected the Boeing/Saab team to provide 350 state-of-the-art T-X trainer aircraft and associated ground-based training systems.
Meet Lois - She's Ridden in More Than 250 Cockpit Sleds at Speeds as High as Mach 1 - and She's Still Going
September 17, 2018
Meet the anthropomorphic test dummies whose main objective is to simulate human ejections from an aircraft at various speeds and record test data through a series of high-precision sensors.
Rising from the flat landscape known as Hurricane Mesa is the only private supersonic-capable aircraft ejection test track in the United States, owned and operated by UTC Aerospace Systems. It’s here where LOIS has worked the test track for decades.
A New Ejection Seat Makes Rocketing Out of a B-2 Bomber Surprisingly Safe
September 14, 2018
The ACES 5, which could also see use in the forthcoming T-X trainer jet, uses everything from nets to gyroscopic rockets to carry pilots from a plane that flies 50,000 feet off the ground at near supersonic speeds to the ground with minimal risk.
Teamwork, Craftsmanship and Uncompromising Commitment - What it Takes to Build an ACES 5® Seat
June 30, 2018
Our latest ACES 5® ejection seat is a product of years of research, investment, testing, and advanced design. But it is also a study in precision craftsmanship and teamwork.
Air Forces around the world depend on us, and so do the families of these intrepid airmen. When an aircrew is forced to eject, they, their families, and their countrymen and women trust we did our job perfectly and they are sitting in an ejection seat with the latest advancements and technology available.
Tested. Proven. Chosen. Watch the ACES 5® Ejection Seat Leverage 360 Degrees of Protection
May 31, 2018
The latest addition to the UTC Aerospace Systems family of Advanced Concept Ejection Seats, the ACES 5® incorporates significant safety and cost saving upgrades. Engineers have combined the unparalleled spinal safety performance of the ACES II® ejection seat with next-generation head, neck, and limb protection for all aviators.
What it Takes to Keep Military Aircrew Safe, Sitting in Advanced Ejection Seats Used Around the World
May 31, 2018
Imagine you are piloting a B-2 Spirit and your bomber has experienced some type of catastrophic damage or system failure. You assess the situation—it’s clear that the aircraft is no longer flyable, and you and your co-pilot need to eject.
How to Protect Aircrew When Their Helmets Instantly Become 70 Pounds Heavier
May 14, 2018
How to protect aircrew when their helmets instantly become 70 pounds heavier
At 3 G’s, you’re feeling triple the pull on every pound of your body and whatever is attached to it. That means a 150-pound airman with 50 pounds of flight gear would experience 600 pounds of force. During an ejection, you would experience at least 8 G’s of force on your body.