Defense News:
US Wants to Buy Brimstones for Reapers LONDON — The US Air Force is looking at equipping its Reaper unmanned aircraft with a British-developed, man-in-the-loop missile better able to reduce collateral damage than the current weapons carried by the machine, according to sources.
Britain’s dual-mode Brimstone missile is being evaluated by the Air Force’s secretive Big Safari Group, British defense procurement minister Philip Dunne revealed in a speech at the offices of Washington law firm McKenna, Long and Aldridge on April 23.
“We are currently working together through the Big Safari Group in rapid-prototyping a UK weapon, Brimstone, on a US platform,” Dunne told the audience of senior executives and government officials.
The 645th Aeronautical Systems Group, better known as “Big Safari,” is a rapid acquisition office based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The group is known for its work on unmanned and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) systems, and is widely credited with the decision to arm Predator drones for use in Afghanistan.
Dunne, on his first trip to the US as procurement minister, didn’t mention the platform the weapon was under consideration to equip, but a number of sources have confirmed that the Reaper is the focus of attention...........