US Navy tests infrared search and track on Boeing Super Hornet

The US Navy recently tested, for the first time on a Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft, the infrared search and track (IRST) sensor that will find hardto-detect targets over long distances. Boeing and Lockheed Martin are developing and integrating IRST, an essential upgrade to the combat capability of the Navy’s Super Hornets.

“Adding an advanced infrared sensor to the Super Hornet broadens the Navy’s warfighting ability,” Navy F/A-18 Programme Manager Capain Frank Morley said. “Combined with the Super Hornet’s advanced radar and the Growler’s electronic attack radar jamming ability, IRST will allow the fleet to dominate the skies in all threat environments.”

The IRST system is being developed under a $135-million contract awarded in 2011 and is currently planned to be deployed by 2017. The technology was initially tested last year on a Boeing King Air test aircraft, which helped reduce costs by advancing the technology before installation on Super Hornets. SP