The Air Force C2ISR Center wants to “institutionalize” the collection and application of non-traditional ISR, said Col. Roger Gant, by utilizing Infrastructure Operations Tools Access. IOTA would incorporate fighter aircraft targeting sensor data with the traditional ISR tools available to the CAOC and put the data directly in the hands of warfighters—quickly. Ultimately, the IOTA enterprise would enable Web-based data discovery, or data tagging technology, and dissemination. If proven, said Gant, the technology could free some ISR platforms from the “high-demand, low-density” cycle.
The KC-Z4, a blended wing body tanker concept being developed by startup JetZero, could fuel larger groups of aircraft at longer range to hold more targets at risk, company officials say.