The U.S. Air Force flew a remotely piloted aircraft equipped with an Angry Kitten® ALQ-167 Electronic Warfare Countermeasure Pod for the first time on April 27, 2023. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. integrated the pod onto the aircraft. The Angry Kitten EW Pod is supplied to the U.S. Air Force by the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and has flown on other Department of Defense systems, including F-16s. GA-ASI integrated the EW pod in less than nine months at no cost to the U.S. Air Force by using a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement.
“It was great to see the Angry Kitten Pod on an Air Force platform for the first time,” said GA-ASI Vice President of DoD Strategic Development Patrick Shortsleeve. “Flying this EW capability on an MQ-9A demonstrates its possible use on future aircraft.”
The U.S. Air Force plans to continue flying with the Angry Kitten ALQ-167 Electronic Countermeasures (ECM) Pods over the next 12 to 24 months to develop the best Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) to leverage EW capabilities in support of the Joint Force and partner nations. The U.S. Air Force 556th Test and Evaluation Squadron completed the first round of MQ-9A Reaper ground and flight testing with the Angry Kitten Pod at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada Apr. 10-28, 2023. The pod provides the MQ-9 elevated Electronic Attack (EA) capability against relevant ground and airborne threats.
This capability enhances survivability for the Reaper and other friendly forces, and complicates adversary planning efforts. The test focused on proving the concept of conducting EA from the MQ-9 to provide operational planners new force application options when confronting Pacing Challenge threats. The Angry Kitten Pod represents the beginning of what the 556th TES hopes to achieve with the MQ-9 in the EA sphere. Through participation in future Large Force Exercises (LFEs) such as Red Flag 23-3 and integrating with the U.S. Air Force Weapons School, the squadron aims to further develop Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) against complex target sets.
