Software defects resolved and full-rate decision reached for IRST

Following delays and software defects, full-rate production has been approved for the F/A-18 E/F Infrared Search and Track system, according to a Navy spokesperson, with an acquisition decision memorandum scheduled to be signed this summer.

After achieving initial operational capability in November 2024, the IRST Block II program was scheduled to reach a full-rate production decision by January. However, this was pushed back due to delays in flight testing, according to a Government Accountability Office report released June 11.

These operational test delays were attributed to “software defects that caused IRST pods to falsely report overheating,” according to GAO’s annual weapon systems assessment. Now, these software issues have been resolved, the Navy spokesperson told Inside Defense.

Defense Department Director of Operational Test and Evaluation officials told GAO that the defect was easy to resolve and could have been fixed during developmental testing if that program had allocated more time for it, according to the report, which adds that this is the second time IRST had surpassed its baseline schedule in the past three years.

IRST Block II will allow Super Hornet squadrons to detect and track targets from a distance and in certain environments where radar may prove ineffective. Operational testing of the system was completed in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024, according to a report released by DOT&E in January.