Army announces plan to upgrade ARL reconnaissance aircraft with new sensors and new airframe
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md., 28 Jan. 2015. U.S. Army airborne surveillance experts are announcing a plan to upgrade the EO-5C Airborne Reconnaissance Low (ARL) reconnaissance aircraft with a new airframe and new electronics.
Officials of the United States Army Contracting Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG) on Monday detailed their plan to replace nine ARL-Multifunction (ARL-M) aircraft with nine Airborne Reconnaissance Low-Enhanced (ARL-E) aircraft.
The plan calls for replacing the ARL-M four-engine de Havilland Canada Dash 7 turboprop aircraft with twin-engine Bombardier Dash-8 turboprops, as well as adding new on-board sensors.
Army officials say they plan to install new wide-area surveillance sensors (WAAS), which will include light detection and ranging (LIDAR) detectors, hyperspectral imaging (HSI) sensors, and interfaces with the Distributed Common Ground System-Army (DCGS-A).
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The ARL-E aircraft supports a rapid plug-and-play, quick-connect/disconnect mounting system that allows for installing various combinations of sensor-types in support of a wide-range of theater operations, Army officials say.
ARL-E will provide tactical commanders with the ability to monitor their operational environment persistently, as well as to identify, track, and respond quickly to potential threats.
The contractor for the ARL-M system is Sierra Nevada Corp. in Sparks, Nev. The upcoming ARL-E contract will consist of task orders that will be awarded as Army experts define system requirements.
A formal ARL-E solicitation should be issued in February online at https://acquisition.army.mil/asfi/. Email questions or concerns to the help desk at [email protected].
For additional questions or concerns contact Contracting Officer Ercilia Del Orbe by phone at 443-861-5368 or by email at [email protected], or Contract Specialist Tyler Restrick by phone at 443-861-5367 or by email at [email protected].
More information is online at https://www.fbo.gov/notices/336c3f69d258f48a4e9899a91d59e6fb.
John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
