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Super Hornets to get infrared search and track system

The Block II Infrared Search and Track System can locate heat emitted by aircraft engines without the use of active radar.

By Stephen Carlson
The Block II Infrared Search and Track System, to be integrated with the F/A-18E and F/A-18F aircraft, is designed to locate the heat emitted by aircraft engines without the use of active radar. Photo courtesy of Boeing
The Block II Infrared Search and Track System, to be integrated with the F/A-18E and F/A-18F aircraft, is designed to locate the heat emitted by aircraft engines without the use of active radar. Photo courtesy of Boeing

May 26 (UPI) -- Boeing has received an $89 million contract to incorporate the Block II Infrared Search and Track System, or IRST, in the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet, the Department of Defense announced on Thursday.

The contract includes design and development, hardware procurement, technical reviews, risk reduction, and product support and engineering tasks.

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Work will be conducted in Orlando, Fla., and St. Louis, Mo. The project is expected to be completed by April 2020. Navy Fiscal 2017 research, development, testing, and evaluation funds of $21 million will be allocated to the program at the time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year.

The IRST is designed to locate the heat emitted by aircraft engines without the use of active radar, which is easily detected by enemy planes and ships. It also helps countering stealth technology.

The system has already seen service aboard a King Air test-bed aircraft.

The Super Hornet fighter is the primary Navy and Marine Corps aircraft, capable of land and carrier-based operations. The plane is expected to be upgraded and in use until the 2040s.

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