Raytheon has provided the Air Force an unsolicited proposal for a new advanced common ground control system for the Predator unmanned aerial vehicle that it believes will speed training, decrease operator error, and enable multiple aircraft control, according to a Sept. 16 company release. The company has worked with combat-tested UAV operators and trainers for two years to develop a CGCS that will “dramatically improve” the operation of UAVs, said Mark Bigham, Raytheon’s business development director for intelligence and information systems. He said the company’s CGCS “will help the current Predator contractor [General Atomics Aeronautical Systems] maximize the number of unmanned aircraft systems operators can fly, ultimately helping to meet Secretary of Defense [Robert] Gates’ goal of ‘more ISR now.’ “According to the release, the system is compatible with improved Predator operations centers being fielded with the Air National Guard now.
As Lockheed Martin prepares to release the first F-35 Block 4 software updates this summer, the company and the Joint Program Office are already well into analyses that will decide what will comprise Block 5 and later upgrades, Lockheed’s F-35 program manager said. For now though, some of the new…