Raytheon expects to demonstrate new target-recognition technology developed under Air Force Research Lab sponsorship this fall in the laboratory, leading to a flight evaluation next spring aboard a Raytheon test aircraft, the company said in a May 14 release. The company aims to show that software designed under its Air-to-Ground Radar Imaging II program would permit manned or unmanned aircraft equipped with current radar technology to detect, track, and target hostile forces in motion on the ground while operating from standoff distances of more than 50 miles away.
The six-week government shutdown did not affect the hours flown by Air Force pilots, a service spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine—avoiding what could have been a major blow at a time when flying hours are already lower than they have been in decades.
