F-16 Fighting Falcon News

July 20, 2000 (by Lieven Dewitte) - Orbital Sciences Corporation's Fairchild Defense division is to provide an advanced version of its mass memory and data transfer equipment for the F-16 block 60 fighter aircraft that were recently approved for sale by the US to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Orbital's onboard avionics will include terrain-referenced navigation and ground collision avoidance systems, as well as the company's state-of-the-art solid-state video recording capabilities. The contract from Lockheed Martin Corporation is valued in excess of $26 million.
In addition to the onboard systems, Orbital is negotiating with Lockheed Martin to provide a customized version of the Fairchild Defense Modular Mission Support System (MMSS), which allows flight crews to rehearse their mission on the ground and then transfer the data to the cockpit for use during the actual flight. The MMSS is designed to improve both flight safety and mission effectiveness.

Fairchild Defense already supplies advanced avionics systems to UAE. In 1999, the company was awarded $30 million in new contracts to supply its Data Transfer equipment (DTE) and MMSS for UAE's new Mirage 2000/9 aircraft. The systems for the F-16 block 60 aircraft, to be supplied through Lockheed Martin, will be similar, but will be customized for the F-16 and its role in the UAE.