ALQ-167 Angry Kitten electronic warfare pod in testing on C-130s

An engineer works on the ALQ-167 Angry Kitten pod attached to a C-130. (ANG AFRC Test Center (AATC))

The US Air National Guard Air Force Reserve Command Test Center (AATC) is testing the ALQ-167 Angry Kitten electronic warfare (EW) pod aboard Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, the centre announced on 12 March.

Angry Kitten has completed testing aboard the F-16, its primary platform. The pod was developed by the Georgia Tech Research Institute as a simulated threat emitter pod, such that F-16s with Angry Kitten aboard could simulate potential enemy systems without modifications to their internal systems. Angry Kitten's software proved easy to update, leading the US Air Force to modify it for use as a combat-capable jamming pod.

“We had minimal hopes for what we could do for larger body aircraft, but it's showing that we actually have good effects,” Chris Culver, an EW engineer attached to the project, said in the announcement.

Testing aboard the C-130 involved real-time updates, such that operators onboard the aircraft could hone jamming techniques during flight; tests aboard the F-16 entailed such modifications on the ground following flights, the announcement noted. The Angry Kitten pod was mounted to an AS-7 Special Airborne Mission Installation & Response (SABIR) retractable arm attached to the C-130's left paratrooper door, which was lowered below the aircraft for operation.

“They are making changes real time to the techniques and pushing updates to the pod, seeing the change in real time,” Culver said.