UTC Aerospace System receives airborne reconnaissance system order via FMS program
NewsFebruary 21, 2018
CHARLOTTE, N.C. U.S. Air Force (USAF) officials selected UTC Aerospace Systems, a unit of United Technologies Corp., for an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract to deliver the DB-110 Airborne Reconnaissance System. The contract has an initial ceiling value of $22.9 million. The acquisition supports requests for the DB-110 system from multiple countries via the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.
In addition to procurement of the DB-110 pods, the USAF IDIQ also includes multiple UTC Aerospace Systems Ground Exploitation Stations. These systems are deployed worldwide with U.S. and allied countries to enable the ingest, exploitation, archival and dissemination of intelligence products from not only the DB-110, but also Full Motion Video (FMV) gimbals and Non-Traditional ISR (NTISR) targeting pods. Operating as nodes within a larger network, the ground stations provide a repository for multiple intelligence products and a platform to discover and share information between broad tiers of end users.
The DB-110 is a dual-band 110-inch focal length reconnaissance system that is capable of producing high-resolution imagery from nadir to a stand-off range of 80-plus nautical miles, day or night. Developed as a derivative of the strategic Senior Year Electro-optical Reconnaissance System (SYERS) sensor on the USAF U-2, the DB-110 can collect more than 10,000 square miles of high-resolution imagery per hour and serves as the cornerstone of many air forces' tactical and strategic ISR capabilities. It is currently in service with 14 nations on multiple platforms.
"The DB-110 is a transformative system, enabling aircraft like the F-16 and F-15 to perform high-end ISR missions that previously were conducted by dedicated strategic platforms," says Mike Don, Director of International Airborne Programs at UTC Aerospace Systems. "With the DB-110, an F-16 can be flexibly deployed to conduct peace time cross-border surveillance from international airspace, or during times of conflict, quickly transit through contested airspace that may be inaccessible by UAVs to conduct time-sensitive tactical-reconnaissance missions. DB-110 is truly a force-multiplier for fast-jet operators worldwide."
