Boeing
is showcasing its Maritime Surveillance Aircraft (MSA) for the first
time at the Farnborough 2014 International Airshow currently held near
London in the UK. It is a fully integrated, modular, open architecture
solution, built using a combination of military and off the shelf technologies.
The MSA concept was first unveiled by Boeing at the previous edition
of Farnborough in 2012. |
In
February 2014, Boeing with its teammate Field Aviation conducted a successful
testing during a four-hour flight from Toronto’s Pearson International
Airport. Field Aviation modified a Bombardier Challenger 604 aircraft’s
structures and systems into the MSA configuration. Boeing achieved first
flight of the MSA demonstrator on an accelerated schedule due to rapid
prototyping and lean manufacturing techniques by Boeing Phantom Works,
the company’s advanced technology organization, working closely
with industry teammates.
Boeing
has selected the Challenger 605 business jet as the MSA platform (as
seen at Farnborough 2014) and will leverage Field Aviation's engineering
and modification experience with the Challenger family of aircraft to
modify the jet.
MSA
uses proven technologies developed for Boeing's P-8A Poseidon program
to provide multi-mission surveillance capabilities. The baseline configuration
features a Selex ES Seaspray 7300 Active Electronically Scanned Array
multi-mode radar, a FLIR Star Safire 380 Electro/Optical/Infrared sensor,
Electronic Support Measures, a Communications Intelligence sensor and
Automated Identification System.
|
