The Photo Service of the Royal Danish Air Force.
An F-16 fighter jet of the Belgian Air Component has been spotted with the unique AN / AAR-60 (V) 2 Missile Launch Detection System (MILDS) F warning system.
The US Air Force released photos of the fighter jet as it was refueling from one of its KC-135 Stratotanker over Iraq on September 22.
We build partnerships flying high in the sky!
Check out a @BeAirForce F-16 Fighting Falcon get refueled by a @usairforce KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft, in support of the @CJTFOIR #ForgeResolutePartnerships pic.twitter.com/YMSybyZogu
— US AFCENT (@USAFCENT) September 21, 2021
The MILDS F missile warning system, which was developed by Germany’s Hensoldt, uses passive imaging sensors to detect the ultraviolet radiation signature of approaching missiles. The sensors are connected to a countermeasure signal processor which allows for spherical coverage and rapid reaction.
The system was integrated into Terma’s weapon Pylon Integrated Dispensing System (PIDS+), which also hosts two flare and chaff dispensers. In the US Air Force photos, the Belgian F-16 was carrying guided JDAM bombs right under the pylon hosting the MILDS F system.
The MILDS F is meant to improve fighter jets’ protection against anti-aircraft missiles such as shoulder-fired infrared-guided missiles which cannot be detected easily by existing warning systems.
Hensoldt exported the unique missile warning system to Belgium under a contract signed in 2018. The system was before supplied to Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands.
