Northrop AAQ-37 Sensor System Demonstrates Hostile Fire Detection Capability

Northrop Grumman Corporation's AN/AAQ-37 Electro-Optical Distributed Aperture System (DAS), developed for the F-35 Lightning II, has add...

Northrop Grumman Corporation's AN/AAQ-37 Electro-Optical Distributed Aperture System (DAS), developed for the F-35 Lightning II, has added hostile ground fire detection to its capabilities by successfully detecting and locating tanks that were firing live rounds during preparations for a military exercise.

While being flown on Northrop Grumman's
BAC 1-11 test aircraft, the DAS detected and located tank fire from an operationally significant distance.
In addition to artillery, the system is able to simultaneously detect and pinpoint the location of rockets and anti-aircraft artillery fired in a wide area.
The AN/AAQ-37 DAS provides passive spherical awareness for the F-35, detecting and tracking aircraft and missiles in every direction simultaneously, providing visual imagery for day or night navigation and targeting purposes.

Although hostile fire detection is not an F-35 requirement for the DAS, the system design makes it ideal for this mission. This inherent capability enables DAS to harvest, process and deliver key battlespace information to ground forces and other aircraft autonomously, without the need for cueing or increasing pilot workload.
The ability to gather this live fire data expands the mission possibilities of the sensor to include close air support and ground fire targeting.