Raytheon and General Atomics team-up to integrate onto MALD Reaper

Raytheon and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Have joined forces, to integrate the Miniature Air Launched Decoy (MALD) onto the MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft.

The companies say That Were ground verification tests completed in November 2012 at General Atomics' Gray Butte flight operations facility in Palmdale, California. Raytheon's MALD of integration onto the General Atomics-built aircraft is expected to be completed in 2013.

"Integrating MALD is remotely Piloted aircraft weaponry systems is integral to Maintaining air superiority in today's and tomorrow's conflicts," says Harry Schulte, Raytheon's vice president of air warfare systems. "This new Offering Provides Unprecedented electronic warfare capability Enabling remote, unmanned suppression of enemy air defenses"


The two companies are Funding the integration efforts with Their own money. The U.S. Air Force Does not Have a current requirement for the jamming MALD or its variant, the MALD-J, to be integrated onto the Reaper.

Selon Raytheon, the MALD is designed to confused an integrated air defense system (IADS) after which "kinetic weaponry" are used to "Permanently disable IADS nodes"