Poland is to field Raytheon’s MS-110 Multispectral Reconnaissance System as part of a major modernisation programme for its fleet of Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters.
Announcing its receipt of a $197 million contract via the US Air Force Life Cycle Management Center on 28 January, the RTX company said its award covers “production, aircraft integration and engineering support for the Polish air force”.
“The contract includes seven advanced reconnaissance pods,” Raytheon says, with its contract term to run until August 2031.
“With artificial intelligence and machine learning, the MS-110 quickly processes and interprets day and night, wide-area, and long-range imagery,” the company says.
Raytheon says it has previously sold its MS-110 system to three other air forces, and Warsaw’s order represents its first such commitment from a NATO member.
“This capability empowers the US and our allies to maintain a strategic advantage in an evolving global defence landscape by bolstering survivability, responsiveness and wide area surveillance,” says Dan Theisen, Raytheon’s president of advanced products and solutions.
“The MS-110 system brings advanced capability by pushing next-generation processing to the tactical edge to defeat camouflage and decoys in near real time,” he adds.
Poland currently employs the earlier-generation DB-110 sensor with its F-16 fleet.
Late last year, Warsaw signed a $3.8 billion deal to bring its 47-strong C/D-model fleet of Block 52+ fighters up to the latest F-16V configuration. Key elements of the modernisation activity will include installing Northrop Grumman’s APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam active electronically scanned array radar, and the L3Harris Viper Shield electronic warfare and self-protection system.
