The head of one of Raytheon's latest divisions made a light-hearted start to a briefing on what will be a very serious business for the company.
The director of the new Unmanned Combat Vehicles (UCAV) programme pointed out that it was only natural for a woman to take on the role.
Heidi Shyu, accompanied by Sue Baumgarten, vice-president Electronic Systems Business Development and Steve Teel, vice-president C3I Business Development, underlined the key role which the unmanned air vehicles (UAV) business will mean to Raytheon in years to come.
The revolution in sensors, communications and weapons forecast by the company executives looks set to continue as the unmanned market follows a historical trail of being up to a decade behind developments in the manned arena.
Shyu says: "The developments in this area are as significant as the pioneer development of radar in the Second World War. It's a big deal."
Asked about likely developments in the UCAV field, such as jamming and active self defence capability, she admitted a lot of options are under review.
Source: Flight Daily News
