Boeing, the prime contractor for the US Navy's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Block II Infrared Search and Track (IRST) program, has awarded a $108 million subcontract to upgrade long-range aircraft sensors to detect and track enemy threats, Lockheed Martin announced in a press release on Monday.
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th November, 2018) Boeing, the prime contractor for the US Navy's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Block II Infrared Search and Track (IRST) program, has awarded a $108 million subcontract to upgrade long-range aircraft sensors to detect and track enemy threats, Lockheed Martin announced in a press release on Monday."Under this contract, Lockheed Martin will complete development, platform integration, flight test, and qualification of the IRST21 Block II sensor system," the release said. "These efforts will further enhance IRST21's proven detection, tracking and ranging capabilities in radar-denied environments."
IRST21 is the next generation of Lockheed Martin's legacy IRST sensor system, which has accumulated over 300,000 flight hours on F-14 and international F-15 platforms, the release said.
As a passive, long-range sensor system mounted on the nose section of the centerline fuel tank, the IRST21 uses infrared search and track technology to detect and track airborne threats with weapon-quality accuracy, increasing pilot reaction time and improving survivability, the release added.
The upgraded system offers added compatibility with the US Navy's F-18 and F-16 aircraft, according to the release.
