On 18 September 2013, Martin-Baker achieved a significant JSF programme milestone by shipping the first MWARS (Martin-Baker Water Activated Release System) flight units to Lockheed Martin.

MWARS will be fitted to all US16E Ejection Seats installed in F-35 aircraft – presently located at Edwards AFB, Eglin AFB, Nellis AFB, NAS Patuxent River and MCAS Yuma.

MWARS enables the fully automatic release of the integrated harness for the ejectee upon immersion into water. The MWARS unit originated from the technology developed by Martin-Baker for the Automatic Life Preserver Inflation Unit (ALPIU) and Automatic Liferaft Inflation Unit (ALIU). This new device has been patented by Martin-Baker having been in continuous development since 2005. It has been extensively tested in order to meet the demanding JSF environmental requirements.

Martin Baker press release