HRS Awarded Development Contract for United Kingdom's F-35 Lightning II Carriage and Release Systems

Harris Corporation (HRS) has been awarded a development contract by MBDA to provide carriage and release systems to support the U.K.’s SPEAR precision strike missile future air combat capability requirements – including the U.K. F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. The award was made in the first quarter of Harris’ fiscal 2018 and announced during Defence and Security Equipment (DSEI) 2017, Sept. 12-15, at the ExCeL in London.

The contract follows the successful completion of the concept assessment phase contract and provides an option for the upcoming demonstration phase contract.

Harris will provide four internal bay-compatible SCORPION Lightweight Ejection Rack Units (ERUs) for each of the two F-35 weapon bays. These lightweight ERUs are manufactured at the company’s Brighton, England, facility, and they deliver sophisticated and reliable ejection performance. The ERUs have a high degree of weapon-departure control that is essential to safe operations on high performance air platforms.

“The MBDA SPEAR weapon, combined with our delivery system, offers an advanced precision strike capability for existing aircraft and future fifth-generation air platforms, both manned and unmanned,” said Ed Zoiss, president, Harris Electronic Systems. “We continue to expand our international presence for pneumatic launcher technology in this high-performance, mission-critical application.”