Textron Inc. [TXT] recently said its AAI Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) business unit has entered a strategic alliance with KOR Electronics Defense Solutions to integrate KOR’s signals intelligence (SIGINT) equipment into tactical expeditionary UAS as a new addition to AAI’s family of Multi-Mission Payloads (MMP).
“This technology provides warfighters actionable, time-sensitive data on the capabilities and activities of their adversaries,” Steven Reid, vice president and general manager of AAI, said in a statement. “Equipping our Shadow aircraft, a trusted and omnipresent asset for so many U.S. and allied customers, for this collection mission can help deliver intelligence fast, and to a broader array of deployed forces and formations.”
The companies said that an MMP “pod” can be attached to an AAI Shadow Tactical UAS quickly for it to be ready for a particular mission.
“KOR’s precision location capability, coupled with the Shadow aircraft’s existing electro-optic/infrared sensor, will significantly improve the find, fix and finish timeline and enhance the utility of the Shadow system’s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance role,” Kevin Carnino, KOR’s president and CEO, said in a statement.