Raytheon has delivered its first R7 high-speed anti-radiation missile (HARM) pod to the Air Force, designed to find and identify ground-based emitters. The R7 HARM targeting system is the first upgraded pod to be equipped with new hardware and software, including a GPS receiver. The HARM system allows the pilot to find emitters that can then be destroyed by precision guided munitions. All the current Air Force HTS pods will be upgraded to R7 in the next two years, according to a Raytheon statement.
As the Air Force wrestles to solve the logistics of dispersed operations in the vast Indo-Pacific, it’s investing $3.5 million to help develop a new kind of aircraft: a blended-wing body freighter that’s smaller than a C-130 but larger than a Cessna for “sub-tactical” lift.