Critical Refrigerant Systems for Military Aircraft Defense Applications

The UK Ministry of Defense is responsible for buying equipment, including guns, ships, and airplanes, as well as supporting that equipment. We are integrated at two levels: when new ships are being built and with legacy equipment on existing platforms. We support the in-service side by looking at military applications, identifying the “sore thumbs,” developing a solution, and then going to the customer, often as an unsolicited bid, to say, “You have this problem, and here is the solution.”

When we started looking at some of the innovative products we wanted to develop, specifically around the Eurofighter, we began engaging with Swagelok at a number of levels, from a strategic level all the way down to the engineers.

The Eurofighter jet has a defensive system that uses electronics cooled by refrigerant. The refrigerant system cools the defensive aid subsystem, which helps the pilot defend himself in a combat situation. The electronic countermeasure systems jam radar signals from ground missile systems and deploy decoys to change the aircraft’s profile, giving the pilot a chance to evade incoming threats.

The whole cycle for the refrigerant is important because, if the refrigerant level is too low, the system will not operate. That effectively removes the defense system for that particular aircraft. The refrigerant must be put into and taken out of the aircraft, and once it has been used, it is contaminated. That means the customer must continue buying refrigerant.

When you look at the way the jet operates, they also need a simulator so they can run mission scenarios. From an innovation point of view, we asked, “How do we meet every one of those requirements?” One of the more difficult requirements was recycling the refrigerant.

At the time, they were buying refrigerant at somewhere around $100 for one kilogram. We developed and funded a concept machine ourselves, and we achieved approximately 99.7% purity. Virgin refrigerant is 99.9% pure, but once we proved the concept, it was clear the idea was worthwhile. It was then an easy decision for me to continue investing and bring it to a production unit, which we did. We achieved 99.9% purity, independently tested, and the cost came in at $15 per kilogram. That gave the customer a clear business case right away.

The whole refrigerant system within our unit is made up 100% of Swagelok components. We are fortunate enough to supply a number of different products to Lightfoot Defence, including flexible metal hose, Micro-Fit weld fittings, stainless steel tubing, RL3 relief valves, TF filters, and Swagelok tube fittings. It is a broad cross-section of products, and we make subassemblies for the vast majority of them.

We get Swagelok involved at a very early stage, so by the time we get to a finished product, Swagelok components have already been specified. We are all very clear about what their contribution is going to be.

We are looking to drive innovation. Our role is to develop tailored value propositions that focus on competitive advantage in terms of price, but ultimately deliver the lowest cost of ownership throughout the service life.

What I like about Swagelok products is the effort that goes into producing them, including the quality of the materials, the level of inspection, and the culture within Swagelok. When I have spoken to Swagelok employees, one thing you definitely pick up on is everyone’s passion for the product. They are proud of it, and that is a wonderful message for us to hear and see, that they are as proud of their product as we are of ours.