BAE Systems has announced it received a $3.3 million contract to transition a full-scale development model of a rapid deployment-capable to a production-ready station to test electronic attack pods used with F-15, F-16, and A-10 aircraft. The portable tester will check out ALQ-131 and ALQ-184 EA pods to enable “fast-turnaround repairs,” stated a company news release. The Air Force expects BAE to complete the FSD transition phase by 2008. In the next phase of the program, BAE would produce up to 100 testers.
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.