Raytheon, an RTX business, completed the first flight test of its RAIVEN Staring electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensing system on a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter today. The air-cooled suite, equipped with three sensors, mapped urban landscapes, marshes, and coastlines in zero illumination while delivering 270-degree situational awareness.
This milestone demonstrates the system’s ability to enhance operator survivability and mission effectiveness in degraded visual environments. RAIVEN Staring supports high-resolution pilotage, passive missile detection, warning, and tracking, providing operators with faster object detection, recognition, and identification.
Part of the configurable RAIVEN EO/IR family, the system scales to a spherical 360-degree field of view and features an open architecture for platform-agnostic integration across air, ground, and sea missions. This flexibility allows easy upgrades and adaptation to diverse operational needs, bolstering defense capabilities for U.S. allies.
Sensors are manufactured in McKinney, Texas. Additional flight tests are scheduled throughout 2026 to validate performance and integration.
“This test showcases the RAIVEN Staring system’s advanced sensing capabilities, enabling partners and allies to better identify and respond to threats,” said Dan Theisen, president of Advanced Products and Solutions at Raytheon.