.U.S. to Use New Beechcraft Spy Planes in Iraq or Afghanistan
Jan. 23 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Air Force in April will start using the first new Hawker Beechcraft Corp. spy planes to support U.S. and coalition ground troops with video and still images, a top official said today.
The four-man aircraft will be deployed in either Iraq or Afghanistan, augmenting round-the-clock surveillance now provided by unmanned Predator and Reaper drones flying 24-hour orbits, said Brigadier General Blair Hansen, who oversees U.S. aircraft reconnaissance programs.
The modified commercial King Air 350 propeller planes are equipped with electro-optical and heat-sensing cameras produced by New York City-based L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. and radios from Waltham, Massachusetts-based Raytheon Co. and Melbourne, Florida-based Harris Corp.
The planes will spot enemy teams planting roadside bombs and help Army and commando teams hunt insurgent leaders, Hansen said. Their deployment is a response to Defense Secretary Robert Gates order in April 2008 to dramatically increase the number of manned and unmanned aircraft providing intelligence to ground troops.
“Speed is of the essence,” Hansen said. The program is named “Project Liberty” after the World War II program to rapidly produce “Liberty” cargo vessels replacing those torpedoed by German U-boats, he said.
$950 Million Program
The program provides $950 million this year to buy as many as 37 aircraft from Wichita, Kansas-based Hawker Beechcraft Corp. The planes can fly as high as 35,000 feet and orbit for as long as five hours.
Images and video will be beamed down to ground troops and command centers equipped with L-3 Communications “Rovers” -- laptop and hand-held devices that allow soldiers to see the same images as airborne operators. Almost 4,000 Rovers have been delivered to the U.S. by L-3 Communications.
The Rovers allow soldiers over secure satellite links to tell the aircraft operators where to direct the plane’s cameras, asking “I need you to look at that building in the north” or “I need you to look at the top window on the right,” Hansen said by way of example.
Hawker Beechcraft was bought in 2007 by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Onex Corp.
Bloomgerg
The four-man aircraft will be deployed in either Iraq or Afghanistan, augmenting round-the-clock surveillance now provided by unmanned Predator and Reaper drones flying 24-hour orbits, said Brigadier General Blair Hansen, who oversees U.S. aircraft reconnaissance programs.
The modified commercial King Air 350 propeller planes are equipped with electro-optical and heat-sensing cameras produced by New York City-based L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. and radios from Waltham, Massachusetts-based Raytheon Co. and Melbourne, Florida-based Harris Corp.
The planes will spot enemy teams planting roadside bombs and help Army and commando teams hunt insurgent leaders, Hansen said. Their deployment is a response to Defense Secretary Robert Gates order in April 2008 to dramatically increase the number of manned and unmanned aircraft providing intelligence to ground troops.
“Speed is of the essence,” Hansen said. The program is named “Project Liberty” after the World War II program to rapidly produce “Liberty” cargo vessels replacing those torpedoed by German U-boats, he said.
$950 Million Program
The program provides $950 million this year to buy as many as 37 aircraft from Wichita, Kansas-based Hawker Beechcraft Corp. The planes can fly as high as 35,000 feet and orbit for as long as five hours.
Images and video will be beamed down to ground troops and command centers equipped with L-3 Communications “Rovers” -- laptop and hand-held devices that allow soldiers to see the same images as airborne operators. Almost 4,000 Rovers have been delivered to the U.S. by L-3 Communications.
The Rovers allow soldiers over secure satellite links to tell the aircraft operators where to direct the plane’s cameras, asking “I need you to look at that building in the north” or “I need you to look at the top window on the right,” Hansen said by way of example.
Hawker Beechcraft was bought in 2007 by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Onex Corp.
Bloomgerg
posted by madtom at 8:23 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home