I Can See You

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter team successfully launched the first phase of the F-35 Electro-Optical Distributed Aperture System early risk-reduction flight test program recently at the Naval Air Warfare Center's Aircraft Division at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. The next-generation EO DAS, developed by a Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems-led team, provides the F-35 with key capabilities that include missile warning, navigation forward-looking infrared, and infrared search and track capability. The flight test program uses a BAC 1-11 flying test bed and captures data using prototype versions of the F-35 DAS sensors. DAS sensors also will be flown in a centerline pod on an F-16 to record data in a dynamic fighter environment.

Photo By David Drais