The US Navy has awarded a contract to Raytheon to start the development of the advanced airborne sensor (AAS) for the navy’s maritime patrol aircraft P-8A Poseidon.
As a successor to littoral surveillance radar system (LSRS) the AAS will provide airborne radar surveillance with future-generation line-of-site capability.
Under the multi-year contract, the company will supervise the mission systems integration, including the development, production and installation of the AAS on the Poseidon aircraft.
In addition, the company will continue mission support of navy operations logistics and sustaining engineering of LSRS, which is now operational on the navy’s P-3C Orion aircraft.
A spokesman for the LSRS and AAS programme said the technology will be available by the time the P-8A takes its place in the fleet as the navy’s primary intelligence surveillance and reconaissance (ISR) capability.
The company will work in association with Boeing on engineering, aircraft modifications, integration and flight testing.
