WASHINGTON — A ferocious feline could help change the way 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 proven to be a very successful training tool for simulating enemy EW actions, and has been used in Air Combat Command officials are It is recommended to rework at least 4 pods It is used in real combat, so fighter pilots can benefit from it in the real world.
The Air Force has been using Angry Kittens for testing and training for years, equipping attack squadrons with equipment to harass trainees and replicate electronic attacks. Lessons learned from using the device “dramatically shaped the direction” of the service, it said on Aug. 3.
During this year’s evaluation, the Angry Kitten kit was reprogrammed overnight to account for previously encountered conditions. Be more informed, be more effectiveA rapid turnaround is a departure from the Air Force’s traditional rigid software-hardware cohesion that can be time-consuming and expensive to reorganize.
“The prevalence of hardware and software stovepipe solutions across Air Force enterprises seriously undermines the Air Force’s ability to rapidly adapt and defeat emerging electromagnetic system threats,” he said, aiming to develop app-enabled solutions. said Keith Kirk, who manages a campaign known as AERRES, an experiment that EW system.
Regarding Angry Kitten, “the software was updated and improved within hours based on its performance against specific threats. These improvements were validated in flight tests the next day,” he said in a statement. I’m here. “It’s very difficult to do this with software and tools. Not designed for open standards”
On-the-fly changes made possible by the open-ended design. Air Force Hiring is expected to increase in the future.
The Angry Kitten Combat Pod was also tested at last year’s Northern Lightning exercise. The Air Force at the time said the team had identified a way to turn the pod from a trainer into a combat-ready one. Recent feedback informs potential field decisions.
Combat pods originate from technology developed by Georgia Institute of Technology Research Institutein 2013, said the project would use commercial electronics, custom hardware, and novel machine learning to provide an “unprecedented level” of adaptability.
Researchers call this problem cognitive EW. It is a system that uses machine learning and other advanced techniques to select means of jamming, analyze their effectiveness, and self-correct to exploit identified weaknesses. This practice differs from deploying chaff, materials used to confuse radar, or other more common means.
Dominating the electromagnetic spectrum War with China and Russiaare the two most serious national security threats, according to US officials. Modern warfare relies heavily on spectrum, used to communicate with friendly forces, identify and suppress enemies, and guide weapons.
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According to a 2013 Newsweek report, Angry Kitten isn’t a very scary name, and it’s a far cry from the offensive monikers commonly used by the military, such as Reaper Drone, Predator Drone, and Hellfire Missile. “The system responds to the ‘cat heart’.”
said Roger Dickerson, Senior Research Engineer, Sensors and Electromagnetic Applications Laboratory, Georgia Tech Laboratory. told C4ISRNET in 2015“We have worked hard to improve the capabilities and preparedness of our combatants in our sponsoring organizations, the Army, Navy, and especially the U.S. Air Force air combat community.”