Lockheed Martin and Raytheon both said Tuesday they successfully debuted new Air Force-related technology at the recent US Joint Forces Command-sponsored Empire Challenge intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance demonstration. Lockheed said it sent signals intelligence data from a targeting pod on an F-16 fighter directly to a distributed common ground system node at Langley AFB, Va., via a developmental data link. DCGS then posted the Sigint in seconds, thereby providing enhanced situational awareness to warfighters at tactical and strategic levels. Among its accomplishments, Raytheon said it demonstrated a scalable DCGS system with enhanced flexibility for mobile and small units and showcased a system called the multi-intelligence exploitation tool, or MIETool, that allows intelligence analysts to overlay electronic intelligence data on images produced by the sensors of RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles. Empire Challenge ’09 took place in late July at locations across the US. (Lockheed release; Raytheon release)
B-1 Bomber Task Force Deploys to Japan
Oct. 18, 2025
A quartet of B-1Bs from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas have landed at Misawa AB, Japan, likely for a series of exercises with Japanese, U.S. and Australian forces.
