You have probably heard of Hello Kitty, that lovable little feline that has spawned a multimillion-dollar toy industry in Asia and throughout the world..But have you heard of the Angry Kitten? More precisely, the Angry Kitten Combat Pod..Doesn't exactly spark fear, does it. But it should ... in fact, some believe it could "dramatically shape" the future of electronic warfare (EW)..What exactly is it and what does it do?.For starters, it gives fighter pilots a distinct advantage — something desperately needed in today's battlefield. Ukraine, as a case in point..Radar plays a key ISR role (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) in detecting and tracking targets. Jam a radar and you can render it useless, depriving the enemy of crucial ISR data..Similarly, C2 (Command and Control) relies on radio and satellite communications (SATCOM). Break these links and the enemy cannot distribute orders and collect situational reports..EW also targets hostile GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) signals. GNSS jamming can deprive the enemy of position, navigation and timing information transmitted by satellite constellations like the US Global Positioning System (GPS)..Despite its "cute" moniker, the US Air Force believes it may have one of the most effective electronic warfare systems in the world — the difference between life and death for a fighter pilot..Originally built to simulate enemy threats during pilot training, it proved to be so capable that the USAF is thinking about turning it into an operational pod that can jam and electronically attack adversaries..According to an Aug. 3 news release, and reported by BreakingDefense, the technology stems from the Angry Kitten pod originally built about a decade ago by Georgia Tech Research Institute, which sought to create an EW system that could adapt to new threats more quickly by using machine learning and easily updatable software..The pod utilizes a cognitive EW approach, which means that it uses machine learning to choose a jamming technique, assess whether it was effective, and respond to an adversary’s own use of electronic attack techniques..It was initially developed to be carried by aggressor aircraft that play the role of enemy fighter jets during training, with the pod able to simulate electronic attacks, the news release said..However, the pod proved so effective and easy to update that Air Combat Command recommended that four systems be converted to a combat version of the pod, which could actually be used by US fighter pilots to jam enemy sensors..Brig.-Gen. Rob Novotny, former commander of the 57th Wing at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, said in 2019 that the Angry Kitten pod is “fantastic” and “makes easy tasks tough for the ‘Blue’ forces.".The USAF's annual Red Flag exercise pits "Red" aggressor forces against "Blue" forces in a series of intense air-to-air scenarios for aircrew and ground personnel to increase their combat readiness and effectiveness..In April, the Air Force conducted an operational assessment of these new Angry Kitten Combat Pods during 30 sorties over two weeks, including final tests at China Lake, Calif..During that time, the pod’s mission data file software was updated every night based on the threats encountered in flights earlier that day, said Keith Kirk, who manages an Air Force experiment campaign that seeks to develop app-enabled EW systems..Known as the App-Enabled Rapidly Reprogrammable Electronic warfare/electromagnetic Systems experiment campaign, or AERRES — yes, quite a mouthful — the Angry Kitten architecture provides greater flexibility to update or reprogram the system as the electronic warfare environment changes, according to the news release..Similar to a smartphone and digital app store, Kirk said today’s electronic warfare/electromagnetic systems need to be quickly updated or loaded with new software to defeat complex emitters and constantly changing electromagnetic systems threats..“The hardware and software stovepipe solutions prevalent throughout the Air Force enterprise significantly impair the Air Force’s ability to quickly adapt and defeat new emerging electromagnetic systems threats,” he said in the statement..“AERRES is demonstrating open hardware/software solutions that allow platforms to upgrade capability by swapping hardware modules and/or software apps to change electromagnetic systems offensive and defensive effects.”.“The software was updated within hours based on the performance they were seeing against certain threats and then was improved, and those improvements were verified during flight test the following day,” Kirk added. “That’s really tough to do with software and tools that are not designed to open standards.”.Lt.-Col. Stephen Graham, the Angry Kitten Combat Pod’s operational test director, said the data files use an open-source programming language, while the software itself is government-owned — making it possible for different entities to quickly develop and field software updates..According to the news release, organizations such as the 36th Electronic Warfare Squadron, Georgia Tech Research Institute, Air National Guard-Air Force Reserve Test Center and the Air Force Air Warfare Center all helped program new code for the latest jamming techniques..“The flight test at China Lake was our final operational assessment event,” Kirk said. “The software was updated within hours based on the performance they were seeing against certain threats and then was improved, and those improvements were verified during flight test the following day. That’s really tough to do with software and tools that are not designed to open standards.”.Kirk said while the future of Angry Kitten Combat Pod is still undecided, the program has dramatically shaped the direction of electronic warfare in the Air Force..It’s possible the Air Force could take the technology into further testing or even operational use..“The AERRES experiment is demonstrating app-like capabilities for the 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing, and the electronic warfare enterprise in general,” Kirk added..“We are making great progress toward software-enabled electronic warfare systems that allow us to quickly update our effects based on the changes in the radio frequency environment and the type of effects that we want to make happen.”.With things going the way they are in Ukraine, which is being closely watched by everyone — Russia, Ukraine, the US, China, and every other military in the world — Angry Kitten might bear its claws in combat sooner than you think..An advanced EW that can potentially counter threat systems that use software-defined radars to quickly change their radio frequency signature to make it more difficult for aircraft to identify and attack them, would be pretty valuable to have in the service of any air force..If it were miniaturized, Angry Kitten could also be adapted to America's deadly MQ-9 Reaper drones, making it doubly dangerous.
