New Sensor in The US Air Force’s Service
Flight tests have commenced on a new sensor that the US Air Force plans to deploy on the Global Hawk autonomous aircraft as they replace aging U-2 spy planes.
Northrop Grumman Corp. announced that it recently completed the first in a series of planned flight tests of the MS-177 multi-spectral imaging sensor aboard an RQ-4 Global Hawk. The long-range sensor is built by UTC Aerospace Systems, a unit of United Technologies (UTC) Corp.
Previously, the sensor suite was demonstrated in flight tests last year conducted by UTC. Following those trials, the Air Force awarded UTC a design contract to expand the sensor’s multi-spectral resolution capabilities.
The MS-177 payload is the next generation of the company’s current sensor, the Senior Year Electro-optical Reconnaissance System-2 (SYERS-2) currently flown on U-2S spy planes. UTC claims the new sensor payload can provide the longest range imaging capability in the U.S. military’s surveillance and reconnaissance arsenal.
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