Lockheed Martin’s [LMT] SpectIR infrared search and track system capability (IRST) pod successfully acquired, tracked and provided a weapons cue during a live fire flight test conducted in early November by the Air National Guard (ANG), according to a company executive.
The SpectIR pod successfully acquired the target on the first pass and maintained a track throughout the engagement, according to a company statement.
By incorporating IRST capabilities into a pod form, the SpectIR system provides long-range, passive infrared detection and tracking of airborne threats in a transportable configuration, according to a statement.
Lockheed Martin Fixed Wing Business Development Manager Jon Sutter said in a telephone interview that Lockheed Martin was awarded a Navy contract to take an advanced form of the SpectIR IRST system and integrate it into Boeing’s [BA] F/A-18E/F Super Hornet’s centerline fuel tank. The test took place Nov. 3.
Sutter said via a company spokeswoman that the Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornets with the SpectIR IRST attached to them have their Initial Operational Capability scheduled for late 2016, but that “this advanced version of the IRST system could be made ready, in a pod and available to other customers sooner than using the same plug and play interface we used with our demo IRST system and with Sniper on the F-16C and other platforms.”
Sutter added Lockheed Martin is the sole source provider of the IRST components for the F-15 in a Saudi Arabia sensor contract. In a Dec. 29 statement, Boeing said Saudi Arabia reached an agreement to purchase 84 new F-15 fighter aircraft from the United States and upgrade 70 of its existing F-15s to the SA variant configuration, which is made specifically for Saudi Arabia. Sutter said through a spokeswoman that F-15SA associated equipment includes Lockheed Martin’s Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP), LANTIRN Extended Range (ER) Navigation Pod and IRST system, which is what the company calls the international version of its SpectIR capability pod.