The US Air Force is considering integrating the Angry Kitten electronic warfare (EW) pod on larger platforms, such as the A-10 Thunderbolt II and the C-130 Hercules.
The Georgia Tech Research Institute-developed pod has already been tested on the F-16 fighter jet and is being tested on the MQ-9 Reaper drone.
Initial tests on the C-130 combat search and rescue (CSAR) aircraft have yielded encouraging results that hold significance for aircraft with larger radar cross-sections that traditionally lack robust electronic warfare capabilities.
Additional aircraft being planned for testing with the self-correcting “cognitive” EW system include the KC-46 and KC-135 tankers.
Testing With C-130
Tests on the C-130 are particularly important as CSAR aircraft often operate in contested environments without electronic warfare protection.
“We had minimal hopes for what we could do for larger body aircraft, but it’s showing that we actually have good effects,” an electronic warfare engineer involved with testing, Chris Culver, said.
The C-130 tests featured real-time updates to electronic warfare techniques, unlike the F-16 tests that included pre-programmed mission data files.
The aircraft’s larger size allowed a team of development engineers to board the aircraft to adjust the system’s jamming techniques mid-flight based on inputs from range-control.
“They are making changes real-time to the techniques and pushing updates to the pod, seeing the change in real-time,” Culver explained.
The system was installed on the aircraft through the Special Airborne Mission Installation and Response, or SABIR, arm on the paratroopers’ door.
Developed by Airdyne, the bolt-on modular system allows for aircraft to be reconfigured for various mission payloads.
Angry Kitten EW Pod
The Angry Kitten utilizes machine-learning to characterize detected enemy radars and other EW threats and tailors optimal jamming and spoofing techniques for neutralization.
It can rapidly adapt to unknown threats.
In comparison, conventional EW systems are programmed to deal with anticipated threats and require human intervention for decision-making.
Angry Kitten utilizes “commercial electronics, custom hardware development, novel machine-learning software and a unique test bed to evaluate unprecedented levels of adaptability in EW technology,” according to a Defense Systems Information Analysis Center report.
Angry Kitten Inc 2 Block 2
Moving forward, a next-generation Angry Kitten system is being worked upon, unofficially dubbed “Angry Kitten Inc 2 Block 2.”
It promises a host of upgrades in capabilities and features including hardware refresh and transitioning from analog to digital receivers for greater sensitivity and frequency agility.
“We’re taking a bunch of separate line-replaceable units within the pod and smashing them together into one LRU (Line Replaceable Unit), saving more real estate inside the pod to make room for new capabilities,” Culver added.
