The Royal Australian Air Force will receive 12 ASG-34A(V)1 Block II Infrared Search and Track (IRST) pods for its 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets before the end of 2025. Defence has allocated $74 million to purchase the pods through a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) case with the US Navy.
“Air Force is scheduled to take delivery of 12 Block II Infra-Red Search and Track (IRST) Pods through 2024 and 2025. The estimated acquisition cost of the 12 IRST Pods is $74M,” a Defence spokesperson told ADM.
“The IRST Pods do not require upgrade of the F/A-18F to the Block III standard."
Block II IRST Pods are modified FPU-12/A centreline fuel tanks with the nose changed to accommodate a Lockheed Martin IRST21 sensor. The modified tanks, known as FPU-13/A carry 490 fewer litres of fuel compared with the standard FPU-12/A.
Block II pods, which first flew in late 2019, are yet to enter operational service. They have better performance than the Block I system and are also lighter and smaller, which allows more fuel to be carried in the tank portion of the unit.
The US Navy has fielded small numbers of the Block I IRST since 2019, mainly for testing and tactics development. In 2020, 12 Block I systems were embarked aboard the USS Nimitz during a deployment to the Middle East for operational testing and evaluation.