EJECTION SEATS IN SERVICE ACROSS 6 CONTINENTS
Martin-Baker America was founded in 1986 and was originally located in North Virginia, but, in 2000, MB America relocated to a brand-new facility in Johnstown, PA. MB America manufactures and produces parts for ejection seats, mainly for the JSF programme for the F-35 aircraft, as well as crashworthy seats for helicopters.
Chalgrove
Martin-Baker has a manufacturing, support and testing facility at Chalgrove Airfield, Oxfordshire. This is where the countless iconic photographs are taken of our ejection tests out of our two Gloster Meteors at mid-range altitude.
All the pyrotechnics that go into a Martin-Baker ejection seat are manufactured here by a highly skilled and dedicated team.
Langford Lodge
Our rocket-sled test track takes us back to Sir James’ roots and is located at Langford Lodge, Northern Ireland. This state-of-the-art track allows us to conduct all range of speed tests for Martin-Baker ejection seats. The 6,200ft track has been in service since 1971, and can accommodate all aircraft types to provide the exacting results that customers demand. All of the cockpits that are fired down the test sled are handmade by Martin-Baker employees.
Denham HQ
Our Denham headquarters is deeply rooted in the history of Martin-Baker. We’ve been at this site since 1929, back when the company was still designing and manufacturing aircraft. A lot has changed since 1929 – countless new buildings have been erected and we’re always expanding operations, but the rich history of the site can still be found throughout.
The Martin-Baker HQ is a hive of activity, with management of all aspects of the Company’s business being handled at this site, as well as design and development engineering, manufacturing and environmental testing.
Martin-Baker France
Created in 1959, the Société d’Exploitation des Matériels Martin-Baker (SEMMB) is 50/50 owned by Safran and Martin-Baker. To date, the Company has manufactured under licence more than 5,000 ejection seats fitted to French aircraft in more than 30 air forces around the world.
The seats have contributed in saving the lives of more than 600 pilots. SEMMB has three principal activities:
- Commerce of new seats (such as the MkF16F for the Rafale programme)
- Commerce of spare parts
- Maintenance and revision of seats in service
SEMMB is also committed to the Research and Development (R&D) of new products and the technical support of its products through:
- Publication of technical documentation
- Technical support on-site
- Training
- Certification of personnel and workshops
Our latest venture, Martin-Baker Australia has facilities at RAAF Base Williamtown, NSW and at RAAF Base Pearce near Perth. Our experts provide Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) for the F-35A 5th-generation fighter as well as supporting all Australian Defence Force platforms offering a quick and efficient service.
Our latest venture, Martin-Baker Australia has facilities at RAAF Base Williamtown, NSW and at RAAF Base Pearce near Perth. Our experts provide Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) for the F-35A 5th-generation fighter as well as supporting all Australian Defence Force platforms offering a quick and efficient service.
Martin-Baker America was founded in 1986 and was originally located in North Virginia, but, in 2000, MB America relocated to a brand-new facility in Johnstown, PA. MB America manufactures and produces parts for ejection seats, mainly for the JSF programme for the F-35 aircraft, as well as crashworthy seats for helicopters.
EXPLORE Our latest venture, Martin-Baker Australia has facilities at RAAF Base Williamtown, NSW and at RAAF Base Pearce near Perth. Our experts provide Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) for the F-35A 5th-generation fighter as well as supporting all Australian Defence Force platforms offering a quick and efficient service.
EXPLORE Martin-Baker France
Created in 1959, the Société d’Exploitation des Matériels Martin-Baker (SEMMB) is 50/50 owned by Safran and Martin-Baker. To date, the Company has manufactured under licence more than 5,000 ejection seats fitted to French aircraft in more than 30 air forces around the world.
The seats have contributed in saving the lives of more than 600 pilots. SEMMB has three principal activities:
- Commerce of new seats (such as the MkF16F for the Rafale programme)
- Commerce of spare parts
- Maintenance and revision of seats in service
SEMMB is also committed to the Research and Development (R&D) of new products and the technical support of its products through:
- Publication of technical documentation
- Technical support on-site
- Training
- Certification of personnel and workshops
Langford Lodge
Our rocket-sled test track takes us back to Sir James’ roots and is located at Langford Lodge, Northern Ireland. This state-of-the-art track allows us to conduct all range of speed tests for Martin-Baker ejection seats. The 6,200ft track has been in service since 1971, and can accommodate all aircraft types to provide the exacting results that customers demand. All of the cockpits that are fired down the test sled are handmade by Martin-Baker employees.
Denham HQ
Our Denham headquarters is deeply rooted in the history of Martin-Baker. We’ve been at this site since 1929, back when the company was still designing and manufacturing aircraft. A lot has changed since 1929 – countless new buildings have been erected and we’re always expanding operations, but the rich history of the site can still be found throughout.
The Martin-Baker HQ is a hive of activity, with management of all aspects of the Company’s business being handled at this site, as well as design and development engineering, manufacturing and environmental testing.
Chalgrove
Martin-Baker has a manufacturing, support and testing facility at Chalgrove Airfield, Oxfordshire. This is where the countless iconic photographs are taken of our ejection tests out of our two Gloster Meteors at mid-range altitude.
All the pyrotechnics that go into a Martin-Baker ejection seat are manufactured here by a highly skilled and dedicated team.
Global Operations
Martin-Baker is a global operation serving 106 operators in 81 countries with over 70 aircraft types and 16,000+ seats in active service. We support a number of regions with dedicated MRO and training facilities.
Our joint venture with Safran, SMB, manufactures ejection seats fitted to French aircraft, which are in service with 30 air forces around the world.
Martin-Baker America was established in 2000 to manufacture, sell, and maintain ejection and crashworthy seat products within the United States and Canada. MB America started off as 3 employees – today, there are over 150 employees at our US facility and this number is ever-growing as we settle into our second (and larger) facility in Johnstown.
Our most recent venture, Martin-Baker Australia, has facilities for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) work on the F-35A, F/A-18 and EA-18, PC-21 and Hawk.
Visit our dedicated pages for MB America and MB Australia below.
Our Engineering Campus
Martin-Baker’s Denham HQ is steeped in history. What was once an aircraft factory, is now a sprawling campus where our ejection seats are designed, engineered, manufactured, tested and assembled by our skilled employees.
Our recently opened new Engineering Building is a modern, open-plan office space designed for collaboration between our programmes, systems and commercial teams.
The site features a machine shop, parachute packing, sewing room, training center for both customers and employees, environmental test center, shipping and packing departments, production engineers, drawing office, technical publications, crashworthy assembly, business development and many more. Our Denham campus is the beating heart of Martin-Baker.
Chalgrove Airfield
Just 40 miles away from Denham, our Chalgrove site manufactures and tests the pyrotechnic cartridge’s that are fitted to over 16,000 seats across the world.
Our Seat Test team conduct zero/zero, net and high-altitude testing with the footage being captured by our dedicated photographic department using high-speed cameras. A dedicated, instrumented test pad is used to conduct our testing which is fitted with trajectory lights and fiberoptic cables.
The airfield is home to our world-famous Gloster Meteor aircraft, 2 of the last flying anywhere on the globe. Both aircraft are retrofitted as test beds for high-altitude ejection seat testing. The Meteors make the occasional trip to the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) at RAF Fairford where enthusiasts flock to see Britain’s first jet fighter.
Langford Lodge Test Track
In 1957, Sir James Martin decided it was time to build his own test track at Langford Lodge in Northern Ireland. The track was constructed entirely by Martin-Baker employees and to the exacting standards of Sir James. The rails had to be dead-straight and not vary more than one-sixteenth of an inch over all 6,000ft of track. It took nearly two and half years to build.
The track opened in 1971 and to this day, is used for high-speed ejection tests from 0 knots up to 625 knots (320m/s). Since 1971, more than 350 seats have been tested at the track.
Discover how high-speed ejection works using our interactive test.
