Cubic Makes History – and Becomes Part of It

Cubic Corporation made history when it created the world’s first instrumented air combat training system in the 1970s.

First deployed to MCAS Yuma and NAS Miramar, the system has helped hone the fighting skills of countless fighter pilots over the years, and shared in the Hollywood glamour of the 1986 motion picture “Top Gun.”

Cubic’s technology was officially installed in the annals of history last June when the USS Midway opened for business. Cubic prepared and donated exhibits related to air combat training to the carrier museum, and is now working with the Midway on other historical projects.

Our current exhibits aboard the Midway include a “TOP GUN Timeline” photographic display, which encapsulates the history of the Navy Fighter Weapons School from the Vietnam War to the present.

The photographic display is located on the Hangar Deck in a room adjacent to a flight simulator school. Another Cubic display nearby features the plastic-encased internal components of a missile-shaped air combat training pod. The pod display explains what the components of air combat training pods are, and how they work. To see an actual pod mounted to an F-14 Tomcat, visitors can go upstairs to the Flight Deck.

The USS Midway has attracted an estimated 500,000 visitors since it opened last year. Cubic would like to thank the numerous retired and current military personnel who helped us get a berth aboard the maiden voyage of this first-class San Diego tourist attraction.

Meanwhile, look for Cubic’s next-generation air combat training system – the P5 CTS/TCTS, coming soon to a military base near you.