US Air Force awards Raytheon $49 million for stand-in jammer
The US Air Force awarded Raytheon Company a $48.9 million contract to begin engineering, manufacturing and design (EMD) of its Miniature Air Launched Decoy stand-in jammer variant.
MALD(TM) is a state-of-the-art, low-cost, decoy flight vehicle that is modular, air-launched and programmable. It weighs less than 300 pounds and has a range of approximately 500 nautical miles (about 575 statute miles). The MALD-J adds radar-jamming capability to the basic MALD platform without altering the decoy's outer mold line.
"During EMD, Raytheon will put MALD-J through an aggressive series of free-flight and captive-carry tests," said Scott Muse, Raytheon's MALD program director. "This is a critical capability for the warfighter, and we intend to meet the required asset available date of 2012."
Prior to entering EMD, the MALD-J successfully completed all 27 test events, culminating in a free-flight test in December 2009. Raytheon recently completed a second free-flight test of the MALD-J April 27.
"In executing the MALD-J program, Raytheon has been ahead of schedule and under budget for 39 months in a row, and we have every reason to expect the same performance during EMD," said Ken Watson, the US Air Force's MALD program manager. "The success of this program is crucial because it will reduce or eliminate the need for manned stand-in jamming aircraft."
Source: Raytheon
More from Digital Battlespace
-
NATO innovation programme doubles in size
DIANA has been leveraging its accelerator programme and test centre network to bring end users together with start-ups, scientific researchers and technology companies for the development of dual-use technological defence and security solutions.
-
DARPA awards AI contracts
The US has been working to out how to use and defend against AI with DARPA alone outlining in 2008 ‘AI Next’ programme with US$2 billion committed to advance the science of AI.
-
Finding your space
Digital mapping and geolocation have become critical to battlespace users, and ensuring the best content is delivered is vital.
-
Why the US would struggle to overcome Russia’s nuclear anti-satellite weapon
Russia's move to develop a nuclear anti-satellite weapon has highlighted US anxieties over space combat readiness, challenging the Pentagon's strategic defences in a potential cosmic battleground.
-
China’s AI developments in electronic surveillance extends to battlefield
‘Nowhere to hide’ as Chinese progress in AI-enabled surveillance technological has enabled it to identify and suppress enemy communications systems.
-
Boeing wins $440 million contract for 12th Wideband Global SATCOM satellite
Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) satellites have been supporting the US DoD’s warfighting information exchange requirements, enabling execution of tactical C4ISR, battlefield management and combat support information.