US-based defence contractor Tactical Air Support has selected L3Harris Technologies to upgrade its F-5 Advanced Tiger (AT) fighter aircraft fleet.

As part of the agreement, L3Harris will provide sensor and system capabilities that will upgrade the F-5 aircraft to the standard of the US Department of Defence’s (DoD) fourth-generation fighter aircraft.

L3Harris will deliver tools including GH-4001 Electronic Standby Instrument System (ESIS) and Tactical Airborne Navigation Systems (TACAN+).

The two systems will enable pilots to efficiently achieve mission-critical responsibilities via improved situational awareness and advanced flight data to enhance safety.

L3Harris’ TACAN+ system features two automatic air-to-air transmit and receive modes, which provide improved tactical efficiency and mission capabilities to the aircraft.

In addition, the system will allow the aircraft to track another lead aircraft in a variety of flying operations, with a minimum closest follower distance of 20m.

The GH-4001 uses next-generation standby technologies to provide sensor and system capabilities, as well as cater to several evolving requirements of high-performance military aircraft.

The flexible technology can also be configured for both single-seated and two-seated aircraft.

L3Harris commercial aviation Alan Crawford president said: “Innovation and pilot situational awareness are the utmost focus at L3Harris Commercial Aviation and that is why our GH-4001 and TACAN+ products are recommended for military missions.

“Tactical Air’s selection of these products as a centre of excellence enables pilots to experience real-world scenarios using world-class products.”

Developed by Northrop Grumman, the F-5 AT fighter aircraft is an agile, reliable, supersonic fighter jet used by the armed forces of several nations including the US, Republic of Korea, Switzerland and Spain.