Reaping What They’ve Sown: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and BAE Systems have joined forces to integrate the sensors on the MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle to create an automated architecture for detecting and identifying ground targets from the platform. The two companies announced Aug. 8 that they are working through Sept. 2009 under Air Force Research Lab sponsorship to apply technology called CLAMP (standing for continuous look attack management for the Predator) already developed for the MQ-1 Predator UAV to the Reaper by integrating its high-resolution Lynx synthetic aperture radar with its other sensors. “This architecture is a significant leap forward,” said Linden Blue, president of General Atomics’ Reconnaissance Systems Group.
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.