ORAC
15th Aug 2022, 23:30
https://www.c4isrnet.com/electronic-warfare/2022/08/15/air-force-may-put-angry-kitten-in-planes-for-electronic-warfare-edge/
Air Force may put Angry Kitten in planes for electronic warfare edge
WASHINGTON — A ferocious feline may help transform how the U.S. military approaches electronic warfare.
The so-called Angry Kitten, a cluster of electronic components contained in a vaguely cat-shaped tube, has proved so successful as a training tool in simulating enemy EW actions that officials with Air Combat Command recommended at least four pods be reworked (https://www.ang.af.mil/Media/Article-Display/Article/3114740/new-combat-pod-system-wakes-up-with-software-updates-during-test/) for use in actual combat, allowing fighter pilots to benefit in the real world.
The Air Force has used Angry Kitten in tests and training for years, outfitting aggressor squadrons with the gear to harass trainees and replicate electronic assaults. Lessons learned from using the device have “dramatically shaped the direction” of the service, it said Aug. 3.
During evaluations this year, Angry Kitten kit was reprogrammed overnight to account for conditions previously encountered, meaning techniques used the next day were both better informed and more effective (https://www.defensenews.com/air/2022/05/17/as-air-force-plans-for-new-aircraft-senators-worry-about-capability-gaps/). The quick turnarounds are a departure from the Air Force’s traditionally rigid software-hardware coupling that take time and money to retool.
“The hardware and software stovepipe solutions prevalent throughout the Air Force enterprise significantly impair the Air Force’s ability to quickly adapt and defeat new emerging electromagnetic systems threats,” said Keith Kirk, who manages a campaign known as AERRES, experiments aimed at developing app-enabled EW systems.
With Angry Kitten, “software was updated within hours based on the performance they were seeing against certain threats and then was improved, and those improvements were verified during flight test the following day,” he said in a statement. “That’s really tough to do with software and tools that are not designed to open standards (https://www.c4isrnet.com/it-networks/2015/07/17/air-force-investigates-open-standards-architecture/).”…..
Air Force may put Angry Kitten in planes for electronic warfare edge
WASHINGTON — A ferocious feline may help transform how the U.S. military approaches electronic warfare.
The so-called Angry Kitten, a cluster of electronic components contained in a vaguely cat-shaped tube, has proved so successful as a training tool in simulating enemy EW actions that officials with Air Combat Command recommended at least four pods be reworked (https://www.ang.af.mil/Media/Article-Display/Article/3114740/new-combat-pod-system-wakes-up-with-software-updates-during-test/) for use in actual combat, allowing fighter pilots to benefit in the real world.
The Air Force has used Angry Kitten in tests and training for years, outfitting aggressor squadrons with the gear to harass trainees and replicate electronic assaults. Lessons learned from using the device have “dramatically shaped the direction” of the service, it said Aug. 3.
During evaluations this year, Angry Kitten kit was reprogrammed overnight to account for conditions previously encountered, meaning techniques used the next day were both better informed and more effective (https://www.defensenews.com/air/2022/05/17/as-air-force-plans-for-new-aircraft-senators-worry-about-capability-gaps/). The quick turnarounds are a departure from the Air Force’s traditionally rigid software-hardware coupling that take time and money to retool.
“The hardware and software stovepipe solutions prevalent throughout the Air Force enterprise significantly impair the Air Force’s ability to quickly adapt and defeat new emerging electromagnetic systems threats,” said Keith Kirk, who manages a campaign known as AERRES, experiments aimed at developing app-enabled EW systems.
With Angry Kitten, “software was updated within hours based on the performance they were seeing against certain threats and then was improved, and those improvements were verified during flight test the following day,” he said in a statement. “That’s really tough to do with software and tools that are not designed to open standards (https://www.c4isrnet.com/it-networks/2015/07/17/air-force-investigates-open-standards-architecture/).”…..