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| Press Release Number: E200304112 | 11-Apr-03 |
First LRIP SHARP Pod Delivered |
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| Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, MD -- The Navy received delivery of the first Shared Reconnaissance Pod (SHARP) Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) System from the Raytheon Company in an April 2, 2003 ceremony at Raytheon Technical Services Company facility in Indianapolis, IN. This delivery, the first of two LRIP pods to be delivered under this contract, provides the U.S. Navy's F/A-18 program with a significantly improved capability in tactical reconnaissance. Raytheon was recently awarded a contract for eight additional SHARP LRIP systems. "This is a big day for us, 50 months ago we were asked to supply a TACRECCE capability to the USS Nimitz," said Rear Adm. James B. Godwin, III, Program Executive Officer for Tactical Aircraft, praising the SHARP Team for their diligence and hard work in achieving this milestone. "Many people didn't think we would deliver this on time. This team has pulled together in ways I couldn't have imagined." SHARP will replace the current Carrier Air Wing tactical reconnaissance capability provided by the film-based F-14 Tactical Air Reconnaissance Pod System (TARPS). Fleet introduction of the SHARP system is on the F/A-18F Super Hornet for its early operational capability on the USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Capt. Charles Wright, CVW-11, sent kudo's from aboard the USS Nimitz. "We've flown it in workups and the pictures are great," he said. "As warfighters we look forward to using this equipment to make the cycle of finding, fixing, and destroying enemy targets go faster than ever before." The Raytheon-designed pod incorporates a rotating mid-section to optimize coverage, to protect the window by allowing stowage under the strongback, and to reduce the size and life cycle expense of large, fixed windows. The pod's design also provides mobility - it mounts on a bomb rack like any smart weapon - allowing for more flexibility in reconnaissance mission planning. While the initial systems employ EO/IR sensors for use on the F/A-18E/F aircraft, the pod design is readily adaptable to many sensor payloads on a wide range of aircraft. Remarking on the SHARP team's achievements in what many thought of as impossible, NAVAIR F/A-18 Program Manager Capt. Jeff Wieringa said he couldn't help but think of a quote his granddad use to say, "The hard stuff we do everyday, the impossible tasks just takes a little longer." NAVAIR provides advanced warfare technology through the efforts of a seamless, integrated, worldwide network of aviation technology experts. From professional training to carrier launch; from sensor data to precision targeting; from aircraft and weapons development to successful deployment; from real-time communication to aircraft recovery NAVAIR provides dominant combat effects and matchless capabilities to the American warfighter. For more information about the SHARP program please contact Denise Deon Wilson, Public Affairs Officer for PEO-T at 301-481-6263 or deond@navair.navy.mil. ### | |
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