Army announces plan to upgrade ARL reconnaissance aircraft with new sensors and new airframe

Jan. 28, 2015
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md., 28 Jan. 2015. U.S. Army airborne surveillance experts are announcing a plan to upgrade the EO-5C Airborne Reconnaissance Low (ARL) reconnaissance aircraft with a new airframe and new electronics.
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md., 28 Jan. 2015. U.S. Army airborne surveillance experts are announcing a plan to upgrade the EO-5C Airborne Reconnaissance Low (ARL) reconnaissance aircraft with a new airframe and new electronics.

Officials of the United States Army Contracting Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG) on Monday detailed their plan to replace nine ARL-Multifunction (ARL-M) aircraft with nine Airborne Reconnaissance Low-Enhanced (ARL-E) aircraft.

The plan calls for replacing the ARL-M four-engine de Havilland Canada Dash 7 turboprop aircraft with twin-engine Bombardier Dash-8 turboprops, as well as adding new on-board sensors.

Army officials say they plan to install new wide-area surveillance sensors (WAAS), which will include light detection and ranging (LIDAR) detectors, hyperspectral imaging (HSI) sensors, and interfaces with the Distributed Common Ground System-Army (DCGS-A).

Related: Improved ground moving target-indicating (GMTI) aircraft radar is aim of Army survey

The ARL-E aircraft supports a rapid plug-and-play, quick-connect/disconnect mounting system that allows for installing various combinations of sensor-types in support of a wide-range of theater operations, Army officials say.

ARL-E will provide tactical commanders with the ability to monitor their operational environment persistently, as well as to identify, track, and respond quickly to potential threats.

The contractor for the ARL-M system is Sierra Nevada Corp. in Sparks, Nev. The upcoming ARL-E contract will consist of task orders that will be awarded as Army experts define system requirements.

Related: U.S. Military upgrades legacy airborne ISR systems due to demand for information superiority

A formal ARL-E solicitation should be issued in February online at https://acquisition.army.mil/asfi/. Email questions or concerns to the help desk at [email protected].

For additional questions or concerns contact Contracting Officer Ercilia Del Orbe by phone at 443-861-5368 or by email at [email protected], or Contract Specialist Tyler Restrick by phone at 443-861-5367 or by email at [email protected].

More information is online at https://www.fbo.gov/notices/336c3f69d258f48a4e9899a91d59e6fb.

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