UTC Aerospace Systems Awarded Study Contract For Integrating MS-177 Sensor with the USAF Distributed Common Ground System

UTC Aerospace Systems, a unit of United Technologies Corp., announced the award of a study contract to complete the integration of its MS-177 sensor system into the U.S. Air Force (USAF) Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS). Awarded by Lockheed Martin, the contract will support the USAF and provide the next generation image processing, command and control and situational awareness tools for combat operations.

UTC Aerospace Systems is focused on delivering an open-architecture solution to the USAF DCGS modernization effort, and reducing long-term sustainment costs by utilizing the new agile process for acquisition and delivery of critical capabilities.

"This contract is an inter-dependent effort with our Global Hawk MS-177 program that will provide DCGS operators and analysts with very similar capabilities to those employed by the the U2's Senior Year Electro-Optical Reconnaissance System (SYERS) mission operatives," said Kevin Raftery, vice president, UTC Aerospace Systems.

The MS-177 product line is the next-generation in intelligence gathering and imaging technology, with origins in the USAF SYERS system currently flown on the U-2S platform.

The benefits of the MS-177 sensor are found in its new wide area field of view and higher resolution imaging performance, which gives it the ability to collect on greater than six-times more area of coverage per hour. It also provides motion imagery modality that adds on-target persistence throughout the field of regard, providing both combat identification and tracking information of moving targets. These technological advances will contribute to a more detailed and accurate Common Operating Picture for the USAF's DCGS.