Boeing Upgrades French AWACS Radar
ST. LOUIS, Feb. 01, 2005 -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] recently completed upgrading the first of four French E-3F AWACS aircraft with a Radar System Improvement Program (RSIP) kit, ahead of schedule. The modification is part of a $133 million foreign military sales contract with Hanscom, Air Force Base, Mass.
"This is the most significant upgrade to the French AWACS fleet since its delivery in the early 1990s," said Nigel Lo, Boeing RSIP program manager. "It also will bring France's surveillance capability up to same standards as its NATO allies".
The other three AWACS aircraft will receive upgrades by mid-2006 to improve the E-3F's surveillance capability by increasing the sensitivity of the pulse Doppler radar so the aircraft can detect and track smaller targets. It also improves the radar's electronic counter-countermeasures capability.
Air France Industries, under subcontract to Boeing, performed the installation and checkout at its facility in Le Bourget, France. Boeing flight-tested the upgraded aircraft at the main operating base for the French AWACS in Avord, France.
RSIP kits, built by Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems, upgrade the surveillance radar's existing computer with a new high-reliability multi-processor. New radar software is easier to maintain and enhance in the future. The modification also upgrades the radar's antenna, receivers and transmitters.
A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one of the world's largest space and defense businesses. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $27 billion business. It provides network-centric system solutions to its global military, government, and commercial customers. It is a leading provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems; the world's largest military aircraft manufacturer; the world's largest satellite manufacturer and a leading provider of space-based communications; the primary systems integrator for U.S. missile defense and Department of Homeland Security; NASA's largest contractor; and a global leader in launch services.
###
Contact Info:
Dave Sloan
Boeing Air Force Systems
(253) 657-3046
david.a.sloan@boeing.com
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
