Cummings Aerospace continues its support of the U.S. Navy’s lifesaving Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC)

In a chaotic, clutter-filled environment, the US Navy needs to distinguish between friends and foe and engage a host of threats at the maximum range and with minimal reaction time. 

Thankfully, U.S. Navy vessels are equipped with the Cooperative Engagement Capability, or CEC, a system that shares sensor data to create a unified picture of the airspace and enable coordination of defenses. In short, it provides those who serve at sea with the knowledge and capabilities that they need to stay safe — a fact that is always front of mind for the team of Cummings Aerospace engineers that supports the program.  

“The mission speaks to me,” said John Grimm, CEC program director and principal software engineer at Cummings Aerospace. “I’m a former sailor myself. Friends of mine that are still active duty depend on the work that we do. The end result of this technology is lives saved.”

CEC is, essentially, a large area sensor network that takes and combines data from a variety of sensors and platforms. With CEC, sailors and Marines can access an integrated fire control picture of their defenses. Properly supporting this complex program requires the precise mix of experience, skill, teamwork and dedication.

Supporting powerful defensive solutions

Cummings Aerospace has served as a subcontractor to prime contractor Collins Aerospace on CEC since 2019, providing sophisticated software engineering and systems and cyber security support for this critical fielded system. The Cummings Aerospace engineers supporting CEC bring an exceptionally broad range of experience, with backgrounds spanning space, aerospace, missile defense, web development and manufacturing – expertise that ensures excellence in supporting mission-critical production programs.

But beyond expertise, the employees working on CEC all have another thing in common: unrelenting focus on the mission.

“I’m proud of the dedication of the people here, the hard work that they put in, the knowledge that they have and the willingness to put that extra effort to push the work across the goal line to make the product better in the end,” said John Grimm of his Largo, Florida, team.

That dedication to quality is as critical as the CEC system itself. Without CEC, ships can only track what they can see. With CEC, however, they can also track what other ships can see. By integrating sensors between ships, it expands the detection ranges of existing sensors and weapons to create cross-sections when tracking a threat. This capability translates to better tracking accuracy, continuity, identification and decision-making time.

“It’s extremely rewarding to know that you’re developing capability that the warfighter​ needs and uses every day. It is a critical component of the Navy’s operations,” said Sheila Cummings, CEO and founder of Cummings Aerospace. “It’s just an incredible honor to know that we’re part of something so important for our nation’s defense.”

Since its founding in 2009, Cummings Aerospace has developed expertise in production level programs, as well as shepherding programs through Engineering and Manufacturing Development.

Their expertise spans the full spectrum of capabilities needed to transform promising prototypes into fielded systems, and then build them en masse – from sophisticated systems integration and testing to precision manufacturing and CNC machining, from complex electronics integration to advanced software development and simulation.

This comprehensive approach has proven crucial in programs like their morphing wing technology prototype and, of course, the CEC program, where the ability to navigate the EMD phase effectively can mean the difference between concept and combat-ready reality.”

Then there’s the company’s first end-to-end product: Hellhound™, a turbojet-powered and 3D-printed kamikaze drone designed to compete for the U.S. Army’s upcoming LASSO competition, which is expected to begin as early as spring 2025. An innovative offering from Cummings Aerospace, Hellhound delivers a speed-to-target capability that makes it, at minimum, an intriguing and hard-to-ignore solution. Hellhound is significantly faster than the quadcopter and propeller-driven drones against which it is competing, as demonstrated​ when it reached 384 mph at half throttle during a January 2025 flight test.

For the company engineers — whether they are working on a drone, CEC or any other program — the main focus remains the same: ensuring America and its allies have a decisive advantage on the battlefield.

“When our teams get to work with the operators, the Sailors and the Marines, day-to-day, it’s phenomenal for them to see firsthand the importance of what they are doing,” said Cummings. “For me, as a business owner, to know we’re playing that vital of a role is a very rewarding, powerful, impactful thing.”

The Navy extended the program contract in late 2024, and Cummings Aerospace stands ready to continue providing quality support to CEC for several years to come.

“I continue to be impressed by the dedication and expertise of the engineers working on this program, and the commitment that we all have to provide the best product that we can,” Grimm said. “Their goal is always to provide the best systems and software engineering services possible.”