First Royal Air Force Wedgetail aircraft fitted with MESA surveillance sensor
Northrop Grumman's Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) sensor has been successfully installed on an E-7 Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft for the RAF, the company announced on 4 November.
'Northrop Grumman’s in-service, combat-proven MESA system already provides mission crews with advanced Airborne Moving Target Indication (MTI) capability to support NATO assurance missions against evolving threats,' said Jack Hawkins, director, MESA, at the company.
'This advanced MTI will enhance UK forces’ ability to simultaneously detect, track and identify airborne and maritime adversary targets at long range, while maintaining continuous surveillance of the operational area.'
Australia, Turkey and South Korea have active fleets of Wedgetail aircraft, with completion work under way on the second and third systems for the UK. Shephard reported in February that the USAF has also indicated it will purchase the E-7/MESA combination to replace its ageing E-3 AWACS fleet.
Criticism has been levelled at the RAF's decision to cut its original order for Wedgetails from five to three aircraft, but the service was confident it had a full business case for the aircraft and that the fleet provided a meaningful ISR capability.
Related Programmes in Defence Insight
E-7 Wedgetail - UK (Second Order)
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Digital Battlespace
-
US Space Force increases efforts to plug training capabilities gaps
The service has been seeking simulation and emulation solutions capable of reproducing multiple in-orbit threats.
-
Thales selected for Syracuse satellite communications terminals for French vehicles
The Syracuse 4B communications satellite, developed by Airbus and Thales Alenia Space, was launched last year, bolstering secure military satellite communications for the French Armed Forces. Thales has now been selected to provide terminals for vehicles.
-
The New Battlefield: Space Defence, Emerging Threats, and Strategic Opportunities (Studio)
The growing importance of space in modern warfare, advancements in satellite technology, and increasing threats from rivals like China and Russia were among the topics of a Eurosatory 2024 panel on military space operations.
-
BAE Systems to provide radios for South Korean aircraft
AN/ARC-232A is a Starfire radio that provides VHF/UHF communications to airborne platforms and the transceiver is software-programmable, allowing for multiple waveform support as well as optional national electronic counter counter-measure (ECCM) capability.
-
Lockheed Martin to work with DARPA on AI effort
During the 18-month period of the contract, Lockheed Martin will apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) techniques to create surrogate models of aircraft, sensors, electronic warfare and weapons within dynamic and operationally representative environments.