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.
President Donald Trump projected confidence Nov. 19 that a proposed sale of F-35s to Saudi Arabia will sail through the Foreign Military Sales process, an early test of the Pentagon’s acquisition reforms. The deal is also likely to face scrutiny from ally Israel over how it could affect the balance…
