An E-8C Joint STARS aircraft has completed a series of flights to see how well it could help guide anti-ship weapons against surface combatants at standoff distances. These activities were part of the Navy-led demonstration called joint surface warfare. To support the demo, members of the Joint STARS modernization branch at Hanscom AFB, Mass, developed prototype software called Link 16 network-enabled weapon for the Joint STARS testbed aircraft. With it, the aircraft served as the command-and-control node as well as a node for transmitting in-flight target updates to Navy joint standoff weapons during the three days of tests in September off of the coast of California. “From the Joint STARS perspective, the demonstration was completely successful,” said Brittany Ridings, who oversaw the JSW effort. (Hanscom report by Patty Welsh)
Anduril and General Atomics will develop their Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Air Force, beating out Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. But any of the non-selected companies can compete to actually manufacture the eventual design, the Air Force said.