Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom AFB, Mass., “showcased” two new combat identification systems during the recent Bold Quest demonstration at Nellis AFB, Nev., reports Monica Morales. The Laser Target Imaging Program and the Synthetic Aperture Radar Aided Target Recognition Capability proved “enormously successful,” following 18 months of “complex preparation, coordination, and relationship development,” said Rod Rendina, chief of ESC’s 630th Electronic Systems Squadron Non-Cooperative Technologies. The SAR-ATR uses high-resolution radar images to provide improved target identification, enabling sensor operations aboard an E-8 Joint STARS to distinguish targets more clearly, thus reducing target processing time. The LTIP illuminates targets at a much farther range than previously existed, which enables strike aircraft to have real-time identification capability.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.