The US Air Force (USAF) plans to seek out small businesses to offer potential solutions for a host of upgrades on its Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor fleet, including the integration of Thales' Scorpion helmet-mounted cueing system (HMCS) and a long-range infrared search-and-track (IRST) sensor.A recently published Direct to Phase Ⅱ Open Topic solicitation from the USAF Research Laboratory's AFVentures Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) programme summarised the 14 potential upgrades that are planned for the F-22A fleet. While the document was targeted at small businesses, it did not specify a time schedule for the delivery of these upgrades. The solicitation outlined that the funding of other Raptor-related projects may also be considered.These 14 potential upgrades include the integration of a long-range IRST sensor and an interface for the Thales-developed Scorpion HMCS. The remaining 12 upgrades focus on pilot-assisted autonomy, manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T), sensor fusion, cyber intrusion detection and prevention, real-time debriefing, improved sensing, predictive maintenance, combat identification (ID) and synthetic data generation capabilities, along with the creation of new applications for "optimised intercepts", Red Air threat replication and alternative navigation methods to GPS.
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