Finnish forces' airborne surveillance system achieves operational capability
NewsFebruary 14, 2018
DENVER. The Finnish Defense Forces achieved final operational capability of the Lockheed Martin-built "Dragon Shield" airborne surveillance system. The milestone was achieved after the final flight test of the system, which evaluated compliance of the aircraft to civilian and military airworthiness requirements as well as system requirements verification.
Dr. Rob Smith, vice president of C4ISR Systems for Lockheed Martin, says “We worked with Finnish industry to maximize industry participation to ensure that the system can be maintained in-country.”
Lockheed Martin’s team modified an Airbus CASA C-295 cargo aircraft to accommodate a containerized surveillance system that rolls on and off the aircraft. A key attribute of this system is an open, modular architecture that enables future upgrades to be easily added. This approach ensures an up-to-date system throughout the life cycle using an innovative technology road mapping process. In addition to the reconfigured aircraft, Lockheed Martin provided the Finnish Defence Forces with ground stations and communications terminals to support the airborne system.
