Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom AFB, Mass., “showcased” two new combat identification systems during the recent Bold Quest demonstration at Nellis AFB, Nev., reports Monica Morales. The Laser Target Imaging Program and the Synthetic Aperture Radar Aided Target Recognition Capability proved “enormously successful,” following 18 months of “complex preparation, coordination, and relationship development,” said Rod Rendina, chief of ESC’s 630th Electronic Systems Squadron Non-Cooperative Technologies. The SAR-ATR uses high-resolution radar images to provide improved target identification, enabling sensor operations aboard an E-8 Joint STARS to distinguish targets more clearly, thus reducing target processing time. The LTIP illuminates targets at a much farther range than previously existed, which enables strike aircraft to have real-time identification capability.
The U.S. continued to move a significant amount of airpower toward the Middle East in recent days as talks to forge a nuclear deal with Iran hung in the balance. Flight tracking data indicate there was unusually heavy movement of dozens of fighter jets and other assets that might be…
