The South African Air Force has selected Thales’ built digital joint reconnaissance pod (DJRP) to be fitted to the recently purchased Gripen fighters.
The undisclosed number of DJRPs will include two digital cameras and an infrared camera that will be incorporated into 26 Gripen C/Ds and will provide broad-area swath coverage.
Go deeper with GlobalData
SAAB will conduct the carriage trials with the DJRP while the rest of the integration work will be done in South Africa.
The other pods in competition were Rafael’s Reccelite and a system from Danish supplier Terma.
Flight clearance tests for the DJRPs on the Gripen are expected to begin in mid-2010.
