Collins Aerospace has announced the completion of flight testing for the MS-110 Multispectral Airborne Reconnaissance System to enter operational service. Following the first flight in July 2022 on an F-16 for an undisclosed international customer, Collins executed a number of extensive flight tests and related ground activities to confirm that the system’s wide area, long range sensor suite is now ready for deployment. The company is in the process of delivering a total of 16 sensors to international Fast-Jet operators and is in various stages of contractual activities for another 13 pods for three additional customers. The advanced MS-110 builds on the success of the widely deployed DB-110 with which it shares a common support and imagery exploitation infrastructure.
“With MS-110 development and integration completed, the critical intelligence made available by the system can be rapidly rolled out to support multi-domain efforts. The extension and expansion of an Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity contract with the U.S. Air Force Foreign Military Sales organization will be a major factor in accelerating production and improving system affordability,” said Andy Hunter, director and general manager, Intelligent Sensing for Collins Aerospace.
Existing DB-110 operators have the option of upgrading their pods to the MS-110 configuration at their own maintenance facilities, limiting cost and operational downtime for this critical reconnaissance resource. The multispectral features of the MS-110 improves intelligence analysts’ ability to extract vital information from a wide variety of target sets. Collins Aerospace airborne reconnaissance systems have been fielded and operational on tactical fast jet platforms such as the F-15 and F-16 as well as special mission ISR business jets. The system is also compatible with MALE UAVs such as the MQ-9. The MS-110 sensor leverages Collins Aerospace’s proven multi-spectral imaging (MSI) expertise from SYERS-2C flown on the U-2.
Collins Aerospace is a business of RTX, the largest aerospace and defense company in the world. Our global team of 73,000 employees dreams, designs and delivers smarter, more connected solutions for passenger safety and comfort, mission success, space exploration, and operational efficiency and sustainability. We make the most powerful concepts in aerospace a reality. RTX is the world’s largest aerospace and defense company. With more than 180,000 global employees, we push the limits of technology and science to redefine how we connect and protect our world. Through industry-leading businesses – Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, and Raytheon – we are advancing aviation, engineering integrated defense systems for operational success, and developing next-generation technology solutions and manufacturing to help global customers address their most critical challenges. The company, with 2022 sales of $67 billion, is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.
