USAF recon plane to get radio, comms upgrades
NewsSeptember 16, 2019
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa. Collins Aerospace Systems (a unit of United Technologies Corp.) has won a contract with the U.S. Air Force to upgrade the service's fleet of U-2 "Dragon Lady" reconnaissance aircraft with the Collins Aerospace HF-9087D high-frequency (HF) radios.
According to company officials, the upgrades will enable the U-2 to securely transfer command-and-control data in real time over RF while continuing to have reliable beyond-line-of-sight (BLoS) voice contact.
“In contested environments, HF communications continue to be a reliable backbone to ensure mission success with a low operating cost,” said Troy Brunk, vice president and general manager, Communication, Navigation and Guidance Solutions for Collins Aerospace. “The U-2’s upgraded HF will provide robust long-range digital communications capabilities to this platform.”
