New stealthier F/A-18 and Avenger UAV

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Boeing is in production on at least one "proprietary" strike weapon system, vice-president and general manager of global strike systems Shelley Lavender disclosed here today. Further questions elicited a firm "I have nothing further for you on that."

More details were available of a new set of modifications to the Super Hornet, described as "a roadmap for the international market" but designed to be retrofitted to any Block 2 aircraft. The most visible change is a stealth-configured weapon pod designed to accommodate a range of weapons, including four AMRAAMs, but other changes include conformal fuel tanks and more powerful engines.

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General Atomics - Aeronautical Systems Inc plans to offer its Avenger/Predator C unmanned combat air vehicle in two variants, with the second featuring radar absorbent materials, a JSF-type electro-optical sensor and other features for survival in heavily defended airspace, according to aircraft systems group president Frank Pace. "We are working that program, but it's a few years out," Pace said at Farnborough today.

The result, Pace says, will be a a three-tier UCAV offering covering the three types of threat environment - permissive, contested and denied - that will confront US and allied forces in the decades ahead. The current Predator B/Reaper, Pace says, will continue to be the low-cost option for permissive airspace and other missions such as maritime patrol.