F-16 Fighting Falcon News

January 16, 2007 (by Asif Shamim) - The reconnaissance pod has successfully completed flight testing as part of the F-16 Poland Peace Sky program. Testing was undertaken at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. where all the criteria for aircraft operations were met.
The DB-110 pod is carried on the centerline station on the F-16 and is controlled by the pilot using the onboard cockpit Multifunction Display (MFD). The pilot has the ability to capture, edit & view imagery automatically via a pre-programmed mission plan from the cockpit and also command the pod to collect information on targets of opportunity.

According to Tom Bergeron, General Manager and Vice-President of Goodrich's Surveillance and Reconnaissance Systems business, "We are very pleased with the performance of our DB-110 during the F-16 flight tests. This success would not have been possible without the excellent working relationship between our team and Lockheed Martin's team of experts. The completion of the F-16 flight test program adds to the demonstrated performance the DB-110 system has achieved on other aircraft such as the Tornado, F-4, F-15 and P-3. A low-risk, proven solution such as ours is unique in the current marketplace."

The Polish Air Force is acquiring 48 Lockheed Martin F-16 block 52+ advanced under the Peace Sky Foreign Military Sale program. Goodrich was selected by the Polish Air Force to supply seven DB-110 reconnaissance pods with fixed and mobile ground stations.

When delivered, the Peace Sky F-16 will become one of the most advanced fighter aircraft in NATO. Goodrich's DB-110 pod is described as the most sophisticated reconnaissance system available for the F-16 aircraft. Providing three different fields-of-view within one pod, the DB-110 system can be operated at low, medium and high altitudes by day or night. This pod also incorporates the NATO Common Data Link system, allowing operators on the ground to receive imagery in real-time from the aircraft for processing and analysis.

Goodrich's Chelmsford, Mass. based facility produces the Peace Sky DB-110 airborne reconnaissance pods. The accompanying ground exploitation systems are built at there facility in Malvern, Worcestershire, U.K.