Air Force orders electro-optical sensors from L-3 Sonoma

March 1, 2018
U.S. Air Force airborne surveillance experts needed visible-light and infrared electro-optical sensors for helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. They found their solution from L-3 Communications.

U.S. Air Force airborne surveillance experts needed visible-light and infrared electro-optical sensors for helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. They found their solution from L-3 Communications.

Officials of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, have announced a contract worth as much as $90 million to the L-3 Sonoma EO segment in Santa Rosa, Calif., to provide MX series electro-optical and infrared sensors turrets and features.

L-3 Sonoma will provide the company's MX-series airborne imaging and targeting systems with overlapping fields-of-view, common electronics and cabling, common user interfaces and video overlays, and common software and internal components. The MX-series is for fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and aerostats for uninterrupted surveillance of borders, forward operating bases, airfields, and other enemy assets. The MX-series consists of the MX-8, MX-19, MX-15, MX-20, and MX-25.

On this contract, L-3 will do the work in Burlington, Ontario, and should be finished by December 2022. The contract has an option that could extend it through December 2027.

For more information visit L-3 Sonoma EO online at www2.l3t.com/sonomaeo.

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