By Marina Malenic
The Missile Defense Agency has begun flight tests of a missile tracking sensor aboard an MQ-9 Reaper aircraft, officials from sensor manufacturer Raytheon [RTN] said recently.
The agency is conducting experiments off the coast of the Hawaiian island of Kauai using Raytheon’s advanced Airborne Optical Sensor system, said Andy Bonnot, product line director for Space and Airborne Systems Surveillance & Targeting Systems at Raytheon.
“The system allows operators to watch areas of interest uninterrupted and allows the Missile Defense Agency to identify and track missile targets in real time,” said Bonnot.
He added that, if ever deployed, the sensor would supplement MDA missile-tracking satellites.
Bonnot was speaking to reporters at the Association of the United States Army’s annual meeting and exposition in Washington.
The sensor package is part of Raytheon’s family of multi-spectral targeting systems (MTS) and is currently being examined by the Missile Defense Agency as a forward-deployed, advanced airborne infrared sensor.
MTS provides long-range surveillance, high-altitude target acquisition and tracking of threat ballistic missiles.
The MTS is an advanced electro-optical/infrared system that provides long-range surveillance, high-altitude target acquisition, tracking, range finding, and laser designation for all laser guided munitions.
The MTS production line has been integrated on more than 16 platforms, across a broad customer base, Bonnot said.
The product line has expanded over the past several years. The initial sensor, MTS A, was developed with the Air Force for the MQ-1 Predator. Now it has moved to the Navy’s MH- 60, and a derivative is in production for the Army.
The primary sensor on the Reaper is the MTS B, which is also being provided to the Customs and Border Patrol.
Raytheon also is under contract with Northrop Grumman [NOC] to provide MTS B for the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) system.