Aircraft Arresting Systems

Integrated infrastructure for safe aircraft recovery

Midland Airfield Systems supports the installation, modernization, control integration, and lifecycle performance of aircraft arresting systems for military and joint-use airfields.

Aircraft arresting systems combine engaging devices—such as runway pendants or net barriers—with energy-absorbing equipment designed to rapidly decelerate military aircraft during emergency or operational engagements.

Our multidisciplinary approach coordinates arresting equipment with electrical power, controls, communications, foundations, drainage, runway interfaces, and supporting civil infrastructure.

Aircraft Arresting Systems

Aircraft arresting installations combine mechanical equipment, electrical power, controls, communications, and supporting civil infrastructure into a coordinated recovery system.

Midland supports infrastructure associated with:

  • BAK-12 energy-absorbing systems
  • BAK-14 cable-support and retracting systems
  • BAK-15 net-barrier systems
  • Cross-runway pendants, purchase tapes, sheaves, and runway interfaces
  • Net stanchions, raising and lowering mechanisms, and anchor points
  • Equipment pits, shelters, pads, foundations, and drainage
  • Electrical distribution, grounding, bonding, and surge protection
  • Local, tower, and remote-control stations
  • Equipment-position indication, alarms, and safety interlocks
  • System inspection, testing, modernization, and lifecycle support

Midland coordinates the arresting equipment with its foundations, power supplies, field controls, communications pathways, runway interfaces, and operational requirements. This integrated approach helps reduce gaps between the mechanical system, electrical installation, control architecture, and supporting civil work.

Controls, Communications, and Cyber-Resilient Modernization

Aircraft arresting systems depend on reliable communications between field equipment, local control stations, maintenance personnel, and authorized operating locations.

Many existing installations continue to rely on aging point-to-point radio equipment, proprietary communication devices, or unsupported control hardware. Midland supports the migration of these systems toward modern communications architecture using fiber-optic networks and secure cellular connectivity where operationally appropriate.

Capabilities include:

  • Replacement of aging or unsupported radio-based communication links
  • Fiber-optic backbone installation
  • Managed industrial Ethernet networks
  • Secure cellular communication for remote or difficult-to-reach assets
  • Redundant communication paths
  • PLC-based local and remote controls
  • Tower and maintenance-control interfaces
  • Equipment-position, ready, fault, and alarm indication
  • Encrypted communications and controlled remote access
  • Network segmentation and access management
  • Event logging, diagnostics, and communication-health monitoring
  • Backup communications and recovery planning

For fixed, mission-critical installations, fiber can provide a dependable primary communications backbone with reduced exposure to radio-frequency interference. Managed cellular connections may supplement that backbone for remote access, redundancy, alarm reporting, or locations where new fiber construction is impractical.

Cybersecurity improvements come from the complete architecture—not from the communication medium alone. Midland therefore coordinates the selected communication path with encryption, authentication, network segmentation, controlled access, configuration management, logging, and applicable customer cybersecurity requirements.

System Modernization

Existing arresting systems may contain serviceable mechanical equipment alongside aging controls, obsolete communications, deteriorated infrastructure, or components that are increasingly difficult to maintain.

Midland supports phased modernization through:

  • Existing-condition and interface assessments
  • Mechanical, electrical, control, and communications inventories
  • Migration from legacy radio links to fiber and managed cellular communications
  • Replacement of obsolete control panels, PLCs, and operator interfaces
  • Electrical-distribution and grounding improvements
  • Alarm, status, and diagnostic enhancements
  • Foundation, pit, shelter, and drainage rehabilitation
  • Phased cutover and operational transition planning
  • Updated drawings, network diagrams, and equipment records
  • Spare-parts and long-term maintainability planning

Modernization can preserve suitable existing equipment while improving communications reliability, system visibility, cybersecurity, maintainability, and operational support.

MODERNIZED CONTROL & COMMUNICATION

Discuss Your Requirements

From legacy radio links to connected, cyber-resilient infrastructure.

Midland integrates fiber, managed cellular communications, modern controls, status monitoring, and supporting electrical infrastructure to improve the reliability and maintainability of aircraft arresting systems.