Raytheon last month delivered the first miniature air launched decoy (MALD) production unit to the Air Force that will be used in the decoy’s upcoming initial operational test and evaluation phase. “The delivery of the first IOT&E unit means the warfighter is one step closer to gaining the incredible capabilities MALD brings to the fight,” said Ken Watson, the Air Force’s MALD program manager, in Raytheon’s release. MALD, launched from an F-16 or B-52, is designed to duplicate the combat flight profiles and signatures of US and allied aircraft as a way to confuse and overwhelm enemy air defenses, thereby helping to protect the friendly aircraft. Raytheon is currently building low-rate initial production versions of the MALD for the Air Force. It delivered the first LRIP unit in March. Successful completion of IOT&E will clear the way for production at full rates. Raytheon is also pursuing a jammer variant of MALD for the Air Force.
Due to the prolonged delay in deliveries of the Tech Refresh 3 version of the F-35 fighter, Denmark is pulling six of its TR-2-configured F-35 jets stationed in the U.S. back to home base in order to consolidate aircraft and get better training for its pilots and maintainers, the Danish…