The German sensor house Hensoldt and the US provider of mission aircraft, Airdyne Aerospace from Florida, have regulated details of their cooperation on equipping aircraft with mission packages in a memorandum of understanding (MoU). As a first step, they want to jointly offer an integrated and certified mission package specifically for C-130 mission aircraft.
As Hensoldt writes, the mission suite will combine Hensoldt's “MissionGrid” portfolio of various sensors and mission management systems with Airdyne's SABIR system.
According to the company, Hensoldt's MissionGrid consists of components such as radar, COMINT and ELINT sensors, electro-optical sensors and mission computers, which are pre-integrated and tested in-house. This results in significant advantages for the customer, such as lower technical risk or shortened integration times. It can be used in fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles. In addition to military air and naval operations, it will also be used for border protection, search and rescue operations, maritime patrol and law enforcement.
Hensoldt describes Airdyne's SABIR as a system of individual modular components that can be configured in various ways to support different missions, aircraft configurations and other customer-specific requirements. The SABIR system has a modular, open architecture with, among other things, mounting components, fall-proof brackets and power supply modules. It allows for numerous sensor/communication configurations and many different pod designs - either independently or developed by Airdyne. SABIR is compatible with all C-130 models and can be installed as a permanent solution or as a temporary modification that can be swapped between aircraft.
Editorial staff / gwh