U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. James Merriman)
The U.S. Navy’s Infrared Search And Track System, or IRST, intended for its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter jets, is still to join the fleet, more than four years after it entered production. The podded IRST, seen as a critical tool to retain the Navy’s air-to-air advantage over potential adversaries, was first flown on a Super Hornet in late 2019, but operational testing is not now expected to begin until early next year.
The U.S.