Boeing Receives F/A-18E/F Infrared Search & Track Development Contract
- New IRST system for Super Hornet can detect and track multiple targets in electronically denied environments
ST. LOUIS, Nov. 22, 2011 -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] has received a $135 million contract from the U.S. Navy for engineering and manufacturing development of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Infrared Search and Track (IRST) sensor system.
The F/A-18E/F IRST system is a passive, long-range sensor that searches for and detects infrared emissions. The system can track multiple targets simultaneously and provides a highly effective air-to-air targeting capability. IRST allows the user to detect advanced threats, even those equipped with radar-jamming technology.
IRST is an important element of the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18E/F Block II Super Hornet Flight Plan – a series of planned capability enhancements that ensures the Super Hornet will continue to outdistance known and emerging threats over the coming decades. The IRST system is scheduled to achieve Initial Operating Capability in 2016.
“The F/A-18E/F IRST team shares an absolute focus on getting this new capability into the hands of the warfighter,” said Tim Adrian, Boeing F/A-18E/F IRST program manager. “We will deliver a powerful sensor that is fully integrated with the advanced system architecture of the F/A-18E/F, while ensuring that the IRST system provides affordable, supportable and interoperable capability for the Navy.”
Subcontracted to Boeing on IRST are Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT], which is producing the IRST sensor; GE Aviation [NYSE: GE], which is supplying the fuel tank assembly that will contain the sensor; and Meggitt Defense Systems Inc., Irvine, Calif., responsible for the unit’s cooling subassembly.
The Boeing Super Hornet is a multirole aircraft, able to perform virtually every mission in the tactical spectrum, including air superiority, day/night strike with precision-guided weapons, fighter escort, close air support, suppression of enemy air defenses, maritime strike, reconnaissance, forward air control and tanker missions.
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Lockheed Martin Awarded U.S. Navy F/A-18 E/F IRST™ Sensor System EMD Contract
ORLANDO, Fla., November 22nd, 2011 -- Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] received a contract to complete the development of the Infrared Search and Track (IRST™) sensor system for the U.S. Navy F/A-18E/F, marking the start of the Engineering, Manufacturing and Development phase of the program.
“IRST is a game-changer for air-to-air combat, providing a ‘first to see, first to strike’ capability,” said Paul Hey, IRST senior program manager in Lockheed Martin’s Missiles and Fire Control business. “IRST works with the aircraft’s radar to enhance the overall weapon system performance--even in a jamming environment--allowing the warfighter to engage threats with a high probability of success.”
Lockheed Martin’s IRST sensor system improves aircrews’ situational awareness, lethality and survivability, even in threat-intensive environments. The IRST is a passive, long-range sensor that simultaneously tracks multiple targets over a large area and is unaffected by electronic attack or radar jamming. The F/A-18E/F IRST is scheduled to achieve Initial Operating Capability in 2016.
The IRST system’s high-angle accuracy also provides the ability to track closely-spaced targets at maximum ranges. This information can be combined with other on-board sensor data or used alone to further enhance the pilot’s situational awareness.
This advanced IRST sensor system builds on Lockheed Martin’s mature and proven IRST technology, which was carrier-deployed on the legacy F-14D platform. With an active IRST production line delivering units to equip international variants of the F-15, Lockheed Martin is currently subcontracted to the Boeing Company to develop an IRST capability for the U.S. Air Force F-15C.