FORT WORTH, TEXAS (April 10, 2020) – Elbit Systems of America (“Elbit America”) has been awarded a U.S. Air Force (USAF) firm-fixed-price contract with a ceiling of approximately $471 million over a 10-year period, to equip F-16 aircraft of the U.S. Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command, with pylon-based Infra-Red Missile Warning Systems (IR MWS). The contract includes an initial order valued at approximately $17 million. The contract also calls for the company to deliver lab support equipment to the USAF. This contract award was previously announced on March 9, 2020.
The IR MWS to be supplied consist of digital processors and wide field of view staring IR cameras providing the aircraft with early warning and automatic management of onboard countermeasures. The systems will be installed in F-16 compatible pylons enabling fast and efficient integration.
“Elbit America has been a trusted partner of the U.S. Air Force and other countries flying the F-16 for many years, as we supply various avionics and mission systems for the aircraft,” said Elbit Systems of America President and CEO Raanan Horowitz. “We’re honored to apply our experience and expertise to provide critical aircraft protection capability with these key upgrades for the U.S. Air Force. Our MWS pylon will provide a new level of self-protection for F-16s against a range of surface-to-air and air-to-air missile threats. Our system does not require any changes to the F-16, so this survivability improvement will be operational much sooner than most new capabilities.”
The MWS processor and the pylon integration and testing will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, while the infrared MWS sensors will be produced in Merrimack, New Hampshire.