Defense One:
POWAY, California — Teams of modified MQ-9 Reaper drones are being prepped to keep airborne eyes on North Korea, ready to track missile launches and feed crucial data to Navy interceptor warships far offshore, the drones’ maker says.
A June 2016 missile defense drill called Pacific Dragon, which brought together the militaries of Japan, the U.S., and South Korea, showed that a pair of modified MQ-9 Reaper drones could effectively track a ballistic missile. The successful tracking was due in part to special Multi-Spectral Targeting System C sensors from Raytheon aboard the drones. Their electro-optical infrared sensors can detect the heat of a missile as it enters its boost phase. A pair of these modified drones can triangulate on the plume to obtain 3D targeting data, helping interceptor ships draw a better bead on the flying missiles…
