Raytheon has started procuring components required to build the Munitions Control Units for 126 of the Indian Air Force's Jaguar Darin II attack aircraft.

The MCU enables integration of modern weapons on legacy aircraft with minimal to no modifications to aircraft wiring and the flight or stores management software. The MCU's compact size enables it to be located in a weapons pylon or avionics bay of a legacy aircraft. From there, it interfaces between "smart" weapons and the existing software of a legacy aircraft.

"Providing the IAF the capability to enhance their Jaguar fleet is the latest chapter in Raytheon's six-decade history of trusted partnership in India," said Harry Schulte, Raytheon Missile Systems' vice president of Air Warfare Systems.

"MCU will give the Jaguar the capability to employ 'smart' or 'advanced' weapons like the Joint Standoff Weapon, Maverick missile, Paveway precision-guided munition and AIM-9M Sidewinder air-to-air missile."

Raytheon was awarded a contract to build the MCU in 2011, and funding was authorized for the system in 2012. In anticipation of the contract, Raytheon began preliminary work to integrate MCU on Jaguar in 2008.

About the Munitions Control Unit

+ Dimensions: approximately 13 by 6 by 3 inches and weighs roughly 6 pounds.

+ Enables integration of modern weapons on legacy aircraft.

+ Requires minimal modifications to aircraft wiring and no changes to the flight or stores management software.