The odd device was noticed by Aviation Week’s Steve Trimble, who snapped a photo of the slide. It includes a slew of equipment used by the MQ-1C Gray Eagle, an upgraded version of General Atomics’ RQ-1 Predator UAV.
AUVSI is hosting a virtual panel today on Army UAS programs. The PM for Gray Eagle showed this slide, which includes Blasphemy. I submitted a question in the Q&A, asking what is Blasphemy. "I think we're going to skip that one," the PM replied. So who knows what it does. https://t.co/XaqKQSJyAQ
— Steve Trimble (@TheDEWLine) September 9, 2020
According to Trimble, the Army host dodged his question about the mysterious device, saying, “I think we’re going to skip that one” - an odd answer, given the slide is labeled “unclassified.”
The full label says “MFEW & Blasphemy,” the first part of which refers to the Multi-Function Electronic Warfare (MFEW) pod. According to C4ISRNET, the Army’s first jamming pod isn’t expected to go active until 2022, but when it does, it will support long range precision fires (LRPF), likely by spotting for a HIMARS multiple rocket launcher from the relative safety from targeting created by the jammer, which could allow the rocket system to then strike the threatening target.
However, MFEW is just one part of a larger program called the Integrated Electronic Warfare System: the others, according to Defense News, are the Electronic Warfare Planning and Management Tool (EWPMT) and the Defensive Electronic Attack capability.
Raytheon has been building the EWPMT, which is an electronic warfare visualization and planning software program, and began the final stage of development last October. However, little has been said about Defensive Electronic Attack since a 2017 request for information - could this be Blasphemy?
