The electro-optical targeting system (EOTS) for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has made its first flight test. EOTS is designed to give the aircraft a multi-functional means of air-to-air and air-to-surface targeting, providing high-resolution imagery, automatic tracking, infrared search-and-track (IRST), laser designation and rangefinding plus laser spot tracking.
Last week’s first flight, from Goodyear Airport in Phoenix, Arizona, included a demonstration of the IRST data collection and the Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) point and scene track. EOTS is the latest generation infrared sensor technology, which builds on previous Lockheed Martin systems such as LANTIRN and Sniper, says the company. Later flights will test the laser.
The first flight took place on a modified Rockwell Sabreliner executive jet. The test flights will culminate in integration of the infrared targeting system on the Cooperative Avionics Test Bed (CATB), a converted Boeing 737 designed to mimic the F-35.