Private contractor Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) said in a press release that it delivered two more fully integrated Mission Enhancement Kit (MEK) aircraft in support of the U.S. Army’s surveillance operation.
SNC says the MEK adds enhanced mission capabilities to the Army’s Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System (EMARSS) fleet.
“Increasing safety while maintaining diverse mission capabilities is of the utmost importance for us at SNC,” said Tim Owings, executive vice president of SNC’s Mission Solutions and Technologies business area. “We are honored by the Army’s continued trust in us to provide this game-changing technology for these critical missions.”
The King Air 350 MEK reduces aircraft weight, increases engine performance and significantly reduces the overall sound signature to enhance its stealth capabilities in high-altitude areas. SNC modifies the aircraft to increase time aloft and allow for additional operating weight without greater take-off risk. It also enables operations on shorter runways, making the aircraft more suitable for a wider variety of operational environments. This provides customers with versatile multi-mission and special mission capabilities, increased aircraft performance and safety.
SNC is a prime systems integrator with more than 17 years of global ISR aircraft lifecycle support experience – designing, developing and delivering rugged hardware and open architecture software for aerial ISR solutions. With a fleet of more than 200 commercial and military aircraft hosted in 16 hangars and 45+ certified pilots, SNC leverages 800,000+ hours of operational experience on special mission platforms for a wide array of government and military customers.
The Army has procured 16 kits to date. SNC delivered the ninth MEK integrated aircraft #9 this month, totaling three deliveries this year. SNC will continue to perform work covered by this contract from its facilities in Hagerstown, Maryland.