Lockheed Martin [LMT] installed the first two Arrowhead systems on Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) AH-64D Apaches at Gilze Rijen Airbase, Netherlands, the company announced Oct. 10.
These installations mark the first time Lockheed Martin has installed the Arrowhead, or Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor (M-TADS/PNVS), system using host nation equipment and personnel.
“The Arrowhead in-country installation is a prime example of the strategic partnerships Lockheed Martin creates with international customers,” David Starr, Arrowhead Netherlands program manager at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, said. “We worked hand-in-hand with the RNLAF to train them on Arrowhead kit installations. The RNLAF is the first foreign military service to learn how to install Arrowhead kits themselves, and they will complete all remaining installations in the Netherlands.”
Lockheed Martin faced a unique challenge installing the kits. Most countries with Apaches also have Special Repair Activities to troubleshoot, repair and validate hardware, the statement said. However, the Netherlands did not have this capability, which required technique modification to accommodate the Netherlands’ facilities, tools and processes.
Lockheed Martin was awarded the contract in April 2005. It includes the delivery of 24 Arrowhead kits as well as spares, peculiar ground support equipment, training and two Arrowhead kit installations. Fourteen kits have been delivered to date, and the remaining 10 will be delivered by October 2007.
Lockheed Martin’s Arrowhead kit provides the most advanced electro-optical targeting and pilotage system available to Apache crews for maximizing safe flight in day, night and adverse-weather environments. Flight crews have validated the system’s advanced capabilities with highly favorable after-action reports. Arrowhead’s Forward-Looking Infrared (FLIR) sensors use advanced image processing techniques to give pilots the best possible resolution to avoid obstacles during low-level flight.
The U.S. Army awarded the first Arrowhead production contract award in November 2003 to upgrade the 20-year-old TADS/PNVS targeting and pilotage system. Lockheed Martin rolled out the first Arrowhead system to the U.S. Army in May 2005, and completed integration on the first Apache helicopters in June 2005.