L-3 WESCAM demonstrates electro-optics payload on Apache helicopter for U.S. Army

BURLINGTON, Canada, 9 May 2014. L‐3 WESCAM conducted ground and flight demonstrations of its MX-25D electro-optics/infrared (EO/IR) targeting system for armed intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) system at the U.S. Army’s Redstone Test Center (RTC) in Alabama on 16 April 2014.

The MX-25D houses multiple high-definition sensors in a 25-inch turret for fixed-wing, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and aerostat applications and high-altitude, long-endurance missions.

Through a cooperative agreement between the Apache Sensors Product Office and L-3 WESCAM, the demonstrations were conducted to investigate available electro-optical technologies. The original ground demonstration prompted the Sensors Product Office to request a side-by-side flight evaluation between the MX-25D and the current Apache M-TADS/PNVS from the U.S. Army Aviation Flight Test Directorate (AFTD). Integration with the aircraft for this demo was funded by L-3 WESCAM.

"L-3 WESCAM is very pleased with the outcome of the demonstrations and the opportunity to show our most recent sensor advancements to the U.S. Army," says Paul Jennison, L-3 WESCAM vice president of government sales and business development. "We've been providing the Army with leading sensor technology for ISR missions for many years on key platforms, including EMARSS, Army National Guard UH-72, Task Force ODIN, Aerial Reconnaissance Low, the Persistent Threat Detection System (PTDS), and export versions of the CH-47F and the FMS Armed 407 for the Iraqi Air Force."

The MX-25 was first demonstrated in January 2013 when it was delivered to the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona and evaluated by the PTDS Communications-Electronics L-3 Command (CECOM) team as a plug-and-play upgrade path to the MX-20 systems currently deployed on PTDS aerostats.

L-3 WESCAM is a designer and manufacturer of stabilized, multi-spectral imaging systems.