F-16 Fighting Falcon News

October 12, 2010 (by Lieven Dewitte) - The Egyptian government added a reconnaissance pod to the shopping cart filled with 20 F-16C/D Block 50/52 aircraft. Goodrich Corporation, which will procure and deploy the DB-110 reconnaissance pod system for use on those F-16s, was awarded a $11 million contract.
This procurement is in support of the Peace Vector VII program per agreement with the Foreign Military Sale (FMS) customer, Egypt.

Goodrich's DB-110 pod provides three different fields-of-view in a single pod. It can be operated at low, medium and high altitudes by day and by 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 immediate exploitation and analysis.

The on-board system can be operated autonomously, with the DB-110 being controlled by the pod's reconnaissance management system. Imagery is viewed on the F-16's cockpit video display, enabling the pilot to verify targets and conduct tasks such as battle damage assessment. The real-time display also gives the aircrew the ability to seek out targets of opportunity or select a different route to a selected target.

The Egyptian Air Force operates 220 F-16s, making it the 4th largest F-16 operator in the world.