By Marina Malenic
ORLANDO–A new wide-area sensor for unmanned aircraft is slated for deployment next month after corrective actions were taken to fix flaws discovered in testing, a top Air Force official said yesterday.
A leaked memo that criticizes the Gorgon Stare drone-mounted sensor pod has since been revised to include plans to fix the cutting-edge technology, the Air Force said recently (Defense Daily, Jan. 26). The draft states that the sensor has problems that make it neither “operationally effective” nor “operationally suitable” for Afghanistan and identifies 13 specific technological shortfalls. However, the Air Force says the necessary changes are in place.
“Yes, it has met issues,” said Gen. William Fraser, head of Air Combat Command. “But fixes are in place and crews are being trained, and we are on track to deploy next month.”
Fraser was speaking at the Air Force Association’s annual winter meeting here.
Defense Daily first reported the Air Force’s development of Gorgon Stare in the fall of 2008. The effort was part of Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ plan to provide ground troops with better situational awareness–often referred to as an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance “surge.”
The new wide-area airborne surveillance pod is designed to provide 10 times the viewing power of current systems. Currently, only one video feed is provided per platform. It is to be mounted on MQ- 9 Reaper drone aircraft.
The general added that the need for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) in theater has not abated.
“There’s an insatiable appetite for more and more,” Fraser said.
The new pods weigh approximately 1,500 pounds each, which make them too heavy to be flown on the Predator or the Army’s MQ-1C Gray Eagle. Air Force officials have said the service’s primary reason for purchasing more MQ-9s was the desire to accommodate Gorgon Stare.
According to budget documents, more than $500 million was spent on Gorgon Stare-related activities between fiscal 2009 and 2011. The Air Fore is requesting $152 million more for FY ’12.