L3Harris Technologies has been awarded a contract to provide its smart weapon release systems for three countries in the Middle East and North African regions.
The three US-allied nations to receive the new weapon release systems include Bahrain, Jordan and Morocco.
The estimated value of this indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract is approximately $29m.
As part of the latest order, the company will initially deliver a batch of as many as 105 Bomb Release Unit (BRU)-57/A systems for the three nations’ air defence forces.
L3Harris’ BRU-57/A weapon rack will be used with F-16 multi-role fighter aircraft in service with Bahrain, Jordan and Morocco military forces.
It will double the munitions capacity of the F-16 aircraft by allowing the aircraft to simultaneously carry two smart weapons on each system, instead of just one.
Additional munitions can further allow commanders to reduce the number of aircraft to be deployed on a particular strike mission.
L3Harris Space and Airborne Systems president Ed Zoiss said: “Our release systems provide extra offensive capabilities while giving commanders the versatility to deploy the right firepower for every mission.
“These combat-proven systems provide munitions overmatch and allow mission commanders to send the right weapon at the right time to the right target.”
Capable of being customised according to the operator’s mission requirements, the BRU-55/A weapon rack is compatible with 500lb and 1,000lb guided weapons.
It can also be used with other tactical strike aircraft, including F/A-18 C-F Hornet.
According to the company, the installation of smart racks requires no additional modifications in the aircraft wiring, allowing the ground crews to install or remove the release systems anytime.
More than 1,100 systems have so far been ordered by different US-allied and partner nations worldwide.
