Ports in the wing box area could be offset from the center-line to avoid the conformal antennae in that area. While not out of the question, such ports would require cutting primary structural supports in the aircraft and would likely necessitate involving the aircraft manufacturer in the design and fabrication effort. Modifications of this type would require an extended interval when the aircraft would be out of service to the community. The instrumentation wing pods on the EC-130Q have served RAF well but have been underutilized to date. Used primarily as support structures for optical particle probes, mounting locations are available for smaller instruments that do not require direct operator contact but would benefit from the lack of fuselage flow effects.
Space is available within the chamber for electronic components sensitive to temperature changes.
Data recording for, and some remote computer control of, pod-mounted systems are currently being supported. In the next phase of EC-130Q development, ATD plans to move the SABL into a wing pod. Such a move would free critical cabin floor space, enable RAF to use the apertures for mounting User-supplied instrumentation and facilitate the addition of the scanning option to SABL airborne operations. The two existing wing pods will be left intact. A third pod will be modified to handle the key SABL components.