The Air Force recently deployed the second increment of Gorgon Stare, a wide-area persistent surveillance system flown on the MQ-9 Reaper, announced manufacturer Sierra Nevada Corporation. The latest generation achieved initial operating capability and was deployed to Afghanistan earlier this year, according to the July 1 release. “SNC’s latest Gorgon Stare milestone reflects a total government-industry team effort,” said Dave Bullock of SNC. “Together, we’ve rapidly fielded a never-before built, state-of-the-art system that delivers urgently needed and unprecedented warfighting capabilities. The Increment 2 system will make a significant contribution to preserving the lives of our deployed troops,” he said. The Gorgon Stare Increment 2 “provides a four-fold increase in area coverage with a two-fold improvement in resolution compared to its predecessor,” states the release. It “features two state-of-the-art imaging sensor turrets—an electro-optical sensor” and an infrared sensor. (See also Gorgon Stare, Sentinel, and MQ-X.)
Expanded production of the B-21 bomber can be accomplished at Northrop Grumman's existing Palmdale, Calif., facilities, the Air Force said. It also said test aircraft will be so simular to the production version that early examples could be used in combat if called for.