By Ann Roosevelt
Raytheon‘s [RTN] airborne Multi-Spectral Targeting System (MTS) has exceeded one million operational hours, a company official said.
“We’re at a million operational hours and we’re at 1,000 systems,” said Andy Bonnot, product line director for Space and Airborne Systems Surveillance & Targeting Systems at Raytheon.
That’s a 10-fold increase from August 2005, when Raytheon delivered its 100th MTS system, and had approximately 100,000 hours of fielded operations.
The MTS is an advanced electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) system that provides long-range surveillance, high-altitude target acquisition, tracking, range finding, and laser designation for all laser guided munitions.
The MTS production line has been integrated on more than 16 platforms, across a broad customer base, Bonnot said during a teleconference.
The product line, initially responding to a military need, has expanded. The initial sensor, MTS A, was developed with the Air Force for the MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), Bonnot said. Now it has moved to the Navy’s MH-60, and a derivative is in production for the Army, where it is known as the Common Sensor Platform. Other MTS A derivatives are carried on international platforms.
The MTS A is about 15-inch diameter sensor, smaller than MTS B.
The MTS system has migrated to the MQ-9 Reaper, in partnership with Air Force and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Bonnot said. The primary sensor on the Reaper is the MTS B, an “outstanding stand-off observation sensor.”
MTS B is also being provided to the Customs and Border Patrol for their version of the Reaper, and other special customers.
The sensor is integrated on aircraft such as the MC-130 and a derivative such as the Q2, developed for special operations, is flown on rotary wing platforms.
Raytheon also is under contract with Northrop Grumman [NOC] for the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) system, which is essentially a marinized version of a Global Hawk UAV that the Navy is developing, Bonnor said. An MTS B type sensor will be used.