BAE agrees reconnaissance deal with Oman

28 November 2007
BAE Systems has sealed an agreement to supply Oman with advanced reconnaissance systems for the country’s F-16 fighter jets.

The UK aerospace and defence giant will fit the sultanate’s fleet of 12 F-16s with the long-range electro-optical system, enabling reconnaissance from distances of up to 100 nautical miles at altitudes of up to 40,000 feet. The company has declined to place any value on the deal.

BAE has established the so-called “F-16 Oman Peace A’sama A’safiya programme” to refit the fleet for the Royal Air Force of Oman.

Although the new system was deployed specifically for the F-16, with its low clearance to the ground, it can be fitted to F-15s and 18s. All three are already common among the air forces of the Middle East and BAE says earlier versions of the same system are already deployed on aircraft around the region, although it has declined to name which countries it supplies.

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