ASTAC () is a

B band The NATO B band is the obsolete designation given to the radio frequencies from 250 to 500 MHz (equivalent to wavelength In physics and mathematics, wavelength or spatial period of a wave or periodic function is the distance over which the w ...

K band (NATO) The NATO K band is the obsolete designation given to the radio frequencies from 20 to 40 GHz (equivalent to wavelength In physics and mathematics, wavelength or spatial period of a wave or periodic function is the distance over which the wave' ...

SIGINT Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is the act and field of intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly u ...

aircraft pod made by

Thales Group Thales S.A., Trade name, trading as Thales Group (), is a French multinational corporation, multinational aerospace and defence industry, defence corporation specializing in electronics. It designs, develops and manufactures a wide variety of aer ...

. It is a reconnaissance system used to intercept and analyse tactical and technical data on Radio frequency emissions radiated by land-based radars and weapon systems. Recording capabilities and datalinks for real-time interfaces with ground stations are available as options. In operation under

F-4 Phantom The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bowers ...

Mirage 2000-5 The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine, delta wing, fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French Air ...

Mirage 2000D The Dassault Mirage 2000N is a variant of the Mirage 2000 designed for nuclear strike. It formed the core of the French air-based strategic nuclear deterrent. The Mirage 2000D is its conventional attack counterpart. Development The Mirage ...

Mirage F1 The Dassault Mirage F1 is a French fighter and attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was developed as a successor to the Mirage III family. During the 1960s, Dassault commenced development of what would become t ...

. Two of them also equip the two

Transall C-160 The Transall C-160 is a military transport aircraft, produced as a joint venture between France and Germany. "Transall" is a German abbreviation of the manufacturing consortium ''Transporter Allianz'', comprising the companies of Messerschmitt- ...

G Gabriel, one at each wingtip. It has been fitted under

F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it e ...

for

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

trials. The different generations of ASTAC are operated by more than ten air forces worldwide.

References

{{Thales Group Signals intelligence Thales Group