PARIS AIR SHOW, Air France Industries (AFI), a Boeing [NYSE: BA] subcontractor started upgrading the electrical, mechanical and structural systems and mission hardware of the first of four French E-3F airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft.
The $354 million mid life upgrade (MLU), will provide the fleet with more battle space and more actionable information while reducing aircrew workload, according to the aircraft maker.
Boeing is providing on-site engineering and quality assurance support, software and hardware.
Work on the first E-3F AWACS aircraft at AFI’s facility near Paris is planned to be completed in 2014 with remaining fleet completed by 2016.
Steve Swanz, French AWACS program manager for Boeing, said: "Air France Industries is uniquely positioned to help us provide this capability because of its substantial technical and manufacturing capabilities and over 20 years of experience with the E-3F fleet.
"We are also benefitting from the strong cooperation of our U.S. and French government customers."
The MLU upgrade, based on the U.S. AWACS Block 40/45 system, dramatically increases mission execution capability, reliability and effectiveness; and reduces life-cycle costs.
