Heat Vision: US Teen Series Fighters Getting IRST
Apr 30, 2013 12:31 UTC by Defense Industry Daily staff
April 15/13: F-18. Flight tests have begun for the Super Hornet’s IRST, attached to the nose of a Beechcraft King Air. The advantage of that arrangement is that you can bring a few engineers and their gear along for the ride. Boeing’s Test & Evaluation group sees themselves as a rapid prototyping shop, so that kind of arrangement suits them just fine. Boeing feature.
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F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet Block IIs fighters are beginning to enter service with the US Navy and Australia, carrying significantly improved AN/APG-79 AESA radars and other electronic upgrades. Recent years have seen another spreading improvement within global fighter fleets, however: Infra-Red Search & Track (IRST) systems that provide long range thermal imaging against air and ground targets. Most of these deployments have been on Russian (MiG-29 family, SU-30 family) and European (Eurofighter, Rafale, Gripen NG) fighters, or special American exports (UAE’s F-16E/F Block 60 Desert Falcons, Korea & Singapore’s F-15K/SG Strike Eagles).
That absence puts American fighters behind an important curve. This IRST approach can defeat radar stealth in some instances, by focusing on engine exhaust, or on the friction of the aircraft as it powers through the atmosphere. As F-14 pilots will recall, long range electro-optics also offer positive identification, conferring the ability to use a plane’s aerial missiles at their full ranges. Best of all, IRST offers a passive way to locate and target enemy aircraft, without triggering the target’s radar warning receivers. When coupled with medium-range IR missiles like some Russian AA-10 variants, France’s MICA-IR, or even future versions of AMRAAM NCADE, an IRST system offers a fighter both an extra set of medium-range eyes, and a stealthy air-to-air combat weapon. Programs are underway to give some American “teen series” fighters this capability, albeit in a somewhat unusual way…
Tanks for the View: The IRST + Fuel Solution
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Retrofits into existing aircraft can be tricky, but in July 2007, Boeing’s RFI selection process and tapped Lockheed Martin’s Missiles and Fire Control division in Orlando, FL to supply up IRST systems for F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet Block II aircraft. That began as a Systems Development and Demonstration effort, but the program received Milestone B approval in July 2011, and the EMD contract followed in August 2011. The first production deliveries of up to F/A-18 E/F IRST systems were expected in 2012, with initial operational capability expected in 2013.
Lockheed Martin’s IRST is described as “the next generation of the F-14D AN/AAS-42 IRST that accumulated over 200,000 flight hours aboard U.S. aircraft carriers.” The question for Boeing was where to put it.
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Instead of modifying the Super Hornet’s airframe’s structure or wiring, the partners will be taking an unusual route: modifying a 480 gallon centerline fuel tank to carry 330 gallons of fuel + the IRST system. The drawback to this approach is that a centerline tank with IRST needs to stay on the airplane in combat, compromising its aerodynamic performance and radar signature.
On the bright side, this approach will allow refits to existing Super Hornets, and indeed to all “teen series” fighters in the US arsenal, once software integration is performed to tie the IRST into each new plane type’s “multisource integration algorithms.” IRST tracking data must be correlated with other sensors like the fighter’s radar, radar warning receivers, etc., in order to make its surveillance and targeting simple enough to be useful to the pilot. MSIA integration ensures this.
Industrial partners in this effort are:
- Boeing IDS (lead contractor)
- Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control (SpectIR IRST sensor)
- General Electric (F/A-18 fuel tank with the sensor housing)
- Meggitt Defense Systems Inc. (IRST unit’s cooling sub-assembly)
IRST Future: A SpectIR for all Teens?
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A similar approach was suggested for the USAF’s F-15C/D fleet, but it would have been a full centerline pod, rather than a fuel tank with additional capabilities. The two firms already had a history of cooperation on the F-15. Boeing has already installed Lockheed Martin’s Tiger Eyes system, which includes an IRST as part of its suite, on in Korean F-15K and RSAF F-15SG Strike Eagles.
The Pentagon’s FY 2012 budget proposed to end funding for the F-15 program, but Lockheed Martin and Boeing continued to develop “SpectIR” as an option that “will be transportable across a wide range of platforms.” The FY 2013 Presidential Budget for 2013 shows the USAF F-15C SpectIR program picking back up again in FY 2015, and the Air National Guard has its own options. Because IRST is an open ANG requirement for Homeland Defense, the US ANG can just use National Guard & Reserve Equipment Appropriation (NGREA) funds to buy a system, once it’s ready.
Lockheed Martin has privately funded the SpectIR dedicated IRST pod, and is using it to conduct tests and demonstrate its readiness. They see the market extending well beyond F-15 fleets. Integration work for the team will obviously be easier on Boeing and Lockheed Martin “teen series” fighters like the F-15, F-16 and F/A-18. Nevertheless, other platforms around the world would be eligible, if manufacturers or customers wanted to fund integration.
As an interesting aside, there are reports that the USAF’s targeting pods chosen under the new ATP-SE contracts may provide a lesser form of air-to-air IRST capability, alongside the ground surveillance and attack functions.
Contracts and Key Events
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April 15/13: F-18. Flight tests have begun for the Super Hornet’s IRST, attached to the nose of a Beechcraft King Air. The advantage of that arrangement is that you can bring a few engineers and their gear along for the ride. Boeing’s Test & Evaluation group sees themselves as a rapid prototyping shop, so that kind of arrangement suits them just fine. Boeing feature.
Feb 24/12: F-15. Lockheed Martin announces that its “SpectIR” IRST pod successfully acquired, tracked and provided a weapons-grade firing cue during a recent Air National Guard (ANG) flight test. It’s part of a privately-funded Lockheed Martin effort, and the US Air National Guard retains an open requirement for IRST capabilities in its fleet.
The transportable pod format used for the F-15 doesn’t have a fuel tank included, and Lockheed Martin is aiming for “plug-and-play use for the F-15, F-16 and other platforms.”
Nov 10/11: Meggitt Defense Systems Inc. announces that it has won approval to move into the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the Super Hornet IRST’s environmental control unit.
Aug 19/11: EMD contract. Boeing in St. Louis, MO receives a $135 million cost-plus-incentive-fee, firm-fixed-price engineering, manufacturing, and development contract, to complete development of the IRST pod and make it ready for production. Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO (57%); Orlando, FL (35%); Santa Ana, CA (4%); and Irvine, CA (4%), and is expected to be complete in September 2015.
This contract was not competitively procured, pursuant to FAR 6.302-1: “Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.” US Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD manages this contract (N00019-11-C-0036). See also Boeing | Lockheed Martin.
July 21/11: Milestone B. The U.S. Navy’s F/A-18E/F IRST program achieves Milestone B approval to proceed into the Engineering, Manufacturing and Development (EMD) phase. Boeing | Lockheed Martin.
March 15/11: USAF backs off. An Aviation Week report confirms the end of the USAF’s F-15C/D IRST program, saving $34.9 million in FY 2012, and $345 million for the total program from development to production and fielding. One interesting passage noted the different services’ takes on the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet program:
“Air Force officials cite “technical challenges” with the F-15 version as their rationale. However, they also say that a version of the IRST designed for the Navy is “behind schedule.” Navy officials, however, say that the effort is proceeding as planned. “The Navy’s F/A-18 IRST program is meeting program cost and schedule requirements,” says Marcia Hart-Wise, a spokeswoman for the service’s Super Hornet program.”
The USAF’s decision may also be prompted in part by revelations that the LITENING G4-SE surveillance and targeting pod has been found to have air-to-air capabilities in testing. Targeting pod sensors will continue to advance, and if they’re already able serve dual-duty as basic IRST systems, they could be seen as a medium-term solution.
Feb 14/11: The Pentagon releases its FY 2012 budget request, and accompanying documents seem to indicate the end of the USAF’s F-15 IRST retrofit program. See Budget Overview [PDF].
April 28/10: F-15. Lockheed Martin announces a contract from the Boeing Company to continue developing system requirements for a USAF F-15C IRST. The single-seat F-15C Eagle is the USAF’s air superiority model. Company representatives tell DID that this effort will be similar to the Super Hornet’s concept, and will use some common components like the receiver, processor, and IMU(Inertial Measurement Unit, for positioning) but it will be a dedicated centerline pod instead of a converted fuel tank.
Lockheed Martin already has an active IRST production line, and their built-in “Tiger Eyes” system equips some foreign F-15s like Singapore’s F-15SG Strike Eagles.
Nov 16/09: Boeing subsidiary McDonnell Douglas Corp. in St. Louis, MO receives a not-to-exceed $28 million modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order, against a previously issued Basic Ordering Agreement (N00019-05-G-0026), in order to incorporate a revised specification and statement of work for the Super Hornet’s IRST development effort.
Work will be performed in Orlando, FL (50%); St. Louis, MO (40%); Santa Ana, CA (5%); and Irvine, CA (5%), and is expected to be complete in September 2010. The Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD issued the contract.
May 18/09: Lockheed Martin announces a $4 million contract from Boeing for the technology development phase of the F/A-18E/F IRST program. The contract follows a 2-year pre-system design and development program, in which Lockheed Martin was down-selected as the sole source provider (see July 2/07 entry).
The corporate release adds that Lockheed Martin is the only U.S. company with an active IRST production line, and notes that the system “is readily adaptable to a wide range of installation options on various platforms.”
March 11/09: Boeing announces that its IRST tank system has successfully completed a series of 6 flight tests at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, MD, and 4 at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, CA. The system successfully demonstrated transfer alignment, long-range target detection, and the ability to operate in a fuel tank.
For the Super Hornet platform, they also tested the IRST’s integration into the plane’s “multisource integration algorithms.” That lets the Super Hornet’s systems correlate IRST tracking data with other sensors like its radar, radar warning receivers, etc., in order to produce a single picture of the battlespace around it. IRST systems need that kind of integration to be effective, and it’s work that may have to be done anew for each new aircraft type that is fitted with this system.
Dec 10/08: Boeing subsidiary McDonnell Douglas Corp. in St. Louis, MO received an $12 million cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-05-G-0026) for research and development services in support of the Technology Development phase of an IRST system for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.
Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO (50%) and Orlando, FL (50%), and is expected to be complete in October 2009. The Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD issued the contract.
July 2/07: Lockheed Martin picked. Boeing chooses Lockheed Martin as its IRST partner, and the firms invest more than $10 million of their own money on a risk reduction demonstration, with U.S. Navy participation. They expect to receive a US Navy IRST development contract in the summer of 2008, with a total value of over $500 million through the development and production phases of the program. Boeing release.
Additional Readings
- Lockheed Martin – IRST Sensor System
Tag: IRSTpod, IRSTtank, f-18irst, f-15IRST
