The Marines are about to arm their tactical drone, the AAI RQ-7B Shadow. They were going to use an off-the-shelf precision-guided killer missile but they mysteriously changed their mind at the last minute. Nobody knows what they are cooking.
They picked something completely different, a highly classified “high-TRL [technology readiness level] system”, according to Lt. Col. Scott Anderson, the product manager for Shadow in the Army’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems office. The Marines are now working to get this mysterious weapon ready for quick testing and deployment.
Nobody knows what it may be. Even the competition is puzzled. JR Smith — development manager for Raytheon’s advanced missiles and unmanned systems — says that they don’t know the details “but they chose someone else’s weapon”. Someone who was not on the competition to get the contract.
I don’t know, man. My money is all on disintegration rayguns, reverse engineered from the Roswell alien ship. [Aviation Week]