Blue Devil I / II
Operational Block 1 WAAS + SIGINT · Block 2 residuals to BIG SAFARI
CORE sensor lineage
Block 1 was operational: manned aircraft carrying Angel Fire-derived wide-area imagery integrated with SIGINT. Block 2, the airship, was terminated — but its equipment, including GFE, was packed and sent to a BIG SAFARI facility in Greenville, Texas, available for other programmes. The technology did not vanish with the airship.
Blue Devil is routinely misread as only a failed airship. Block 1 used contractor King Air C90s with an integrated pod: Angel Fire-derived WAAS imagery, night imagery, FMV and SIGINT cueing. Congressional documentation describes that integration. NSA and JIEDDO supported it; a SIGINT intercept could cue WAAS then narrow-FOV video. PED used NSA-Net, Trojan Spirit SATCOM and DIA VSAT. SAIC contract FA8650-10-C-1887 grew to ~$243.5m by August 2013. The operational demonstration ended 31 December 2013 and the leased King Airs were returning to Leidos; the government-owned sensor package remained, and was being assessed for reassignment. Block 2 (MAV6 FA8620-11-C-4024, initially $86.2m, 14 March 2011) tried the same architecture on a 5–7 day airship. Payload integration stopped 4 January 2012; airship work ended May 2012; ~$149m spent. FY2014 USAF budget records: equipment including GFE packed and transferred to a BIG SAFARI-managed facility in Greenville, Texas, components available for other projects. DODIG-2013-128: residual components absorbed into other Air Force programmes. HASC 113-102 named Gorgon Stare the logical recapitalisation of Blue Devil WAMI + NVDF SIGINT. Whether any of that hardware or architecture sat on Orion, MQ-9 or another host on 8 March 2014 is open.
Sources
- DODIG-2013-128
- AFCEA, 1 Feb 2013, Blue Devil sensor integration
Related
645 AESG / BIG SAFARI
USAF rapid acquisition — the office that binds this family
Gorgon Stare
BIG SAFARI wide-area surveillance · podded, not MQ-9-only
Where did Blue Devil residual components go?
DODIG-2013-128 — Blue Devil Block 2
DoD Inspector General · 19 September 2013 · 54 pages · Drive source copy
Angel Fire
Wide-area airborne surveillance · lineage into Blue Devil Block 1
Blue Devil I operational demonstration ends
31 December 2013 · four King Airs returning to Leidos
Gorgon Stare, Blue Devil and MAGIC/Orion are one overlapping ISR family under BIG SAFARI
HASC Report 113-102 — Gorgon Stare to recapitalise Blue Devil
House Armed Services Committee · 7 June 2013 · USD(I)/USAF report due 14 Feb 2014
Blue Devil II stopped; hardware to Greenville
Payload stop 4 Jan 2012 · pack-out May 2012 · storage Q4 FY2012
MAGIC
Medium Altitude Global ISR and Communications
Greenville, Texas
BIG SAFARI facility · Blue Devil II GFE available for other programmes
A BIG SAFARI collection architecture around MH370
The family is documented. A specific 8 March operation is open.
Blue Devil, MAGIC, Orion, BIG SAFARI — 2014 window
Briefing collages, 18 September 2026
Where is the 14 February 2014 USD(I)/USAF Gorgon Stare / Blue Devil strategy report?
Where was the Blue Devil I government-owned sensor package in January–March 2014?
FY2013 NDAA Sec. 927 — integrated SIGINT / WAMI plan
Congressional Record 12 Dec 2012 · ISR Task Force plan due 1 Jan 2013
DARPA WAND
Wide Area Network Detection · coincident WAMI + RF
L-3 Greenville awarded Blue Devil 2 integration / test
FA8620-06-G-4003 / order 1157 · $12.054m · 17 Aug 2011