Replacing the Embraer ERJ-145 will delay the US Army’s Aerial Common Sensor (ACS) programme by two years and raise costs by $600 million, says a programme official.
The army in mid-September told ACS prime contractor Lockheed Martin to stand down for 60 days to focus on a platform replacement strategy that will be submitted to the army for approval, says Edward Bair, the service’s programme executive officer for intelligence, electronic-warfare and surveillance. The platform change was ordered after the ERJ-145 fell around 3,200kg (7,000lb) short of its required payload capacity (Flight International, 20-26 September).
Solutions could range from a mixed fleet of smaller aircraft using a federated sensor approach to a larger aircraft with a single sensor payload, Bair says. Larger aircraft under review include the Boeing 737, Bombardier Global Express, Embraer 190 and Gulfstream G550. The army has also made inquiries to the UK Ministry of Defence and Raytheon about the Global Express-based Sentinel R1 airborne stand-off radar aircraft.
Source: Flight International
