Air Force looking to small business for F-22 upgrades

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USAF Looks to Small Businesses for Some F-22 Upgrades

The Air Force is looking for a host of F-22 Raptor upgrades and will seek small businesses to offer potential solutions, according to a draft “open topic” on the AFVentures Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) page. No timing was stated for the upgrades.

According to a recent but undated “Focus Topics” summary in the AFVentures system, which is run by the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Air Force is looking at 14 potential F-22 upgrades, including:

• Integrating the Thales Scorpion helmet-mounted display/weapon cuing system
• A long-range infrared search-and-track sensor
• Manned-unmanned teaming
• Pilot-assisted autonomy
• A GPS-alternative navigation system
• Simulation of “red air” threats
• Algorithms for “optimized intercepts”
• Combat identification of threats
• Cyber intrusion detection and prevention
• Predictive maintenance
• Synthetic data generation
• Sensor fusion
• Improved sensing
• Real-time debriefing

The Air Force has been evaluating the Scorpion helmet for at least seven years. The F-22 is the only frontline Air Force fighter not to have a helmet-mounted display and targeting system; the F-15 and F-16 both use the Joint Helmet-Mounted Cuing System (JHMCS), and the F-35 has its own unique helmet-mounted display system (HMDS).

https://www.airforcemag.com/usaf-looks- ... -upgrades/