Selex ES has signed a contract with Saab for 60 Skyward-G infra-red search and track (IRST) systems to be installed on Swedish Air Force Saa...
The Skyward-G IRST is a long-range passive electro-optical sensor that can detect other airborne system's heat signature without being got detected.
With the IRST a Gripen can detect and track enemy targets, including aircraft, naval vessels and ground vehicles.
The system also has a significant ‘counter-stealth’ capability and, when used alone or in conjunction with Gripen’s other sensors, it can produce high-fidelity tracking information against complex targets over long ranges (well beyond visual range).
The IRST enables tracking other targets like the radar of an aircraft, but unlike radar which gives off the position, IRST does not emit any signals hence it is stealthy.
The Skyward-G is manufactured at Selex ES’s Nerviano (Milan) site in Italy.
Selex ES is a major participant in the Gripen E programme, delivering 30% of the fighter’s electronics. In addition to the Skyward-G, Finmeccanica – Selex ES also provides the fighter aircraft with its radar and Mode 5 Identification Friend/Foe (IFF) systems.
In July, the company signed a production contract for the Raven ES-05 AESA (active electronically scanned array) radar. Saab has also recently chosen Selex ES’s new BriteCloud Expendable Active Decoy (EAD) as an electronic warfare option for the Gripen E.
