Military

Boeing Completes NATO AWACS Upgrade

By Tish Drake | December 5, 2008
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A team led by Boeing completed a major mission-system upgrade for the NATO Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) fleet under the $1.32 billion Mid-Term Modernisation Program. The upgrades include systems to integrate data from various AWACS sensors and other sources, as well as an increase in the number of targets the system can manage at one time. Boeing said the system allows NATO AWACS aircraft to receive mission orders from remote locations and updates via satellite data links, and to electronically integrate this information.Other enhancements include new situation display consoles with flat-panel displays and user-friendly navigation; an open-architecture mission computing system; digital communications systems; broad-spectrum VHF radios; and an upgraded aircraft navigation. Modification of the 17th and final AWACS aircraft was completed on schedule Nov. 3 by the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), as an industry partner and subcontractor to Boeing.

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