The two test beds, with call signs SCAN 06 and VOODOO 1, operated simultaneously in Eglin’s highly instrumented airspace.
On three consecutive days, March 24, 25 and 26, two test aircraft, Northrop Grumman CRJ-700, carried U.S. registration codes N806X Normally operating under the radio call sign “SCAN 06”, Raytheon’s Boeing 727 (registration N289MT and radio call sign “VOODOO 1”) performed simultaneous missions over the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America).
These two planes are very interesting. SCAN 06 is one of three heavily modified CRJ700 aircraft owned by Northrop Grumman, the other two being the N804X and N805X, used to test sensors and communications systems before they are integrated into frontline fighters. The jets can be reconfigured to support different development activities, including new radars, EW (electronic warfare) suites, targeting pods, missile seekers and countermeasures. As we explain in detail hereThe N806X has a peculiar “pointy” nose that bears a striking resemblance to the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile (JATM) seen in BVRAAM (Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile) renderings. Therefore, the aircraft is believed to be involved in the development of the AIM-260 missile, which is intended to replace the AIM-120 AMRAAM, which has been under development since 2017 and has been undergoing flight testing for some time now.
Likewise, the famous Boeing 727 VOODOO 1 or RMT (Raytheon Multi-Procedure Test Bed) equipped with an F-15 nose radome was recently used to test the AN/APG-82 Active Electronically Scanned Array – AESA. as TWZ report As the aircraft participates in the Valiant Shield exercise in June 2022: “Voodoo 1 is a key test asset for Raytheon. It has historically been primarily associated with the development of advanced radars that can be flight tested in its significantly modified nose (essentially that of an F-15 Eagle). This includes work on the AN/APG-63 family of Eagle radars, and more recently, work on the AN/APG-82 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) The AN/APG-82 variant, a version of which is used on the Air Force’s new F-15EX Eagle II fighter jets and is being integrated into existing F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets, will also be received as part of the radar upgrade program.”
data collector Flight Radar 24 An interesting “picture” of the activity carried out by both aircraft last week was provided.
VOODOO 1 conducted a mission on March 23, 2026, from Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. While flight tracking websites don’t show any other aircraft operating next to Raytheon’s test bed that day, it’s worth remembering that not all aircraft, especially military aircraft, can be seen on these platforms. Therefore, N289MT may still have performed test missions involving other untraceable airborne assets or coordination with ground stations or ships.
Raytheon radar test bed 727 N289MT (aka Voodoo-1) was active over the Gulf about an hour ago.
📷 Credit Steven Stein pic.twitter.com/zrQO4DmZ4A
— MeNMyRC (@MeNMyRC1) March 23, 2026
SCAN 06 flew to Eglin Air Force Base on March 23, 2026 from its base at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), Maryland. On its first mission on 24 March, the CRJ took off from Eglin at 12.35 LT and landed 3 hours and 21 minutes later. SCAN 06 operated at an altitude of about 27,000 feet in restricted airspace (W-151), while VOODOO 1 remained at a slightly higher altitude, about 27,850 feet. Northrop Grumman’s test platform flew a flight pattern that looked like a flower pattern, reminiscent of some calibrated orbits. It’s worth noting that the barometric altitudes displayed by Flightradar24 are essentially pressure derived values ​​and when converted to feet may differ slightly from the aircraft’s actual assigned flight altitude. For example, the altitude shown at 27,850 feet probably actually corresponds to FL280. This discrepancy may be due to the difference between standard air pressure (1013.2 hPa/29.92 inHg) and the actual air pressure in the area, as well as the way air pressure data is transmitted, rounded, and displayed on the tracking platform. Above the transition altitude, the aircraft no longer uses the local altimeter setting (QNH) but switches to the standard pressure setting and is then assigned a flight level rather than a true altitude above mean sea level.
On March 25, the mission lasted 2 hours and 52 minutes and set off at 11:52. VOODOO 1 again remained at a higher altitude, approximately 27,000 feet, while SCAN 06 was flying at a lower altitude, between approximately 25,000 and 15,000-16,000 feet, with the two aircraft appearing to follow parallel tracks.
On March 26 (2h54m, takeoff altitude 12.56ft), the geometry changed as shown below, with SCAN 06 at approximately 15,825ft and Voodoo 1 at a lower altitude of approximately 12,575ft.
Interestingly, as shown in the screenshots, during the test events on March 24, 25, and 26, SCAN 06 always operated east of VOODOO 1.
Taken together, these mission profiles, which can be observed through altitude relationships and flight patterns, appear to point to a range of test setups involving different relative positions, geometries and sensor or data collection conditions, although the available evidence certainly does not determine the exact purpose of the flights.
Still, the fact that Northrop Grumman’s test platform flew alongside Raytheon’s VOODOO 1 at Eglin for three consecutive days is particularly interesting, as it suggests that the activity may involve some degree of integration between the sensors carried by the two platforms. As previously mentioned, VOODOO 1 is Raytheon’s airborne radar and mission systems test platform that has been used to evaluate advanced radar capabilities in flight and to support demonstrations or exercises involving the collection, fusion and dissemination of target data across a broader network. We can only speculate here, but we can outline some of the tests that both test platforms may be involved in, including telemetry-rich sensor, radar, communications or data link testing associated with distributed kill chains, generation and sharing of target-mass trajectories, wider combat network experiments or other forms of mid-course support associated with modern beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles.
Eglin Testing and Training Center
The event took place in W-151 airspace, one of the most important testing environments in the United States. In fact, the East Bay Test and Training Range, or Eglin Bay Test and Training Rangeis the largest military range in the continental United States, providing the capacity, instrumentation and safety footprint required for real-life and simulated combat scenarios. The range stretches from Key West to northwest Florida and covers approximately 180,000 square miles of airspace controlled by the U.S. Department of Defense, supporting activities ranging from missile and aircraft testing to high-altitude supersonic air combat training, air-to-air missile testing, drone testing and hypersonic weapons evaluation. It is therefore an ideal environment to test next generation air weapons under realistic combat alternative conditions.
Interestingly, Aaron Perlupo, who took the photos of both test rigs in this article, mentions another fairly famous one, the Secret Test Bench RAT (or RATT) 55A highly modified B737 equipped with advanced radar technology and thought to be used almost exclusively to assess the radar signature of stealth aircraft, it was also deployed to MacDill, Florida, at least 4 days before VOODOO and SCAN operated at Eglin.
“I was visiting the area with a friend and I saw VOODOO1 on the Flightradar24 landing site at Eglin Air Force Base,” Aaron told us in an email. “I also heard that RATT55 was in Florida, so I convinced my friend to drive to Eglin to try and see them. While planning the drive to Eglin, I noticed SCAN06 arriving and starting flying with VOODOO. Around mid-afternoon we drove to a public area north of the airport, where I spotted SCAN with a missile on its nose. As soon as I saw the missile, I knew something was up, but I had no idea what type of missile or mission it was until someone pointed it out to me afterwards.”
AIM-260 JATM
Regarding missiles, here is what we wrote in our previous article about the AIM-260:
Designed to become the primary long-range air-to-air weapon for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy in the coming years, the AIM-260 is considered American counter Increasingly advanced missile technology being developed by the People’s Republic of China. Compared with the AIM-120 AMRAAM it is intended to replace, the AIM-260 will be equipped with a more powerful rocket engine, capable of speeds up to Mach 5 and a range of more than 200 kilometers.
The current AIM-120D-3 AMRAAM variant has a claimed range of approximately 160 kilometers. Advanced medium-range air-to-air missile will continue developmentthe new variant is intended to complement rather than compete with JATM. In addition, many overseas customers may choose newer models of AMRAAM, which are more economical to purchase and more familiar to operate.
The AIM-260 is expected to be integrated into U.S. Air Force aircraft alongside manned tactical fighters such as the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II Upcoming Unmanned Cooperative Combat Aircraft (CCA). The CCA will operate in conjunction with manned fighter aircraft, providing the ability to carry larger payloads in combat and provide a platform capable of entering high-threat environments without exposing pilots to greater risk.
previous statement claimed By 2026, AIM-260 production will exceed AIM-120. It is unclear whether this milestone is still on track, but it is likely that a large number of AIM-260 units have been produced and will enter service in the near future.
Thanks to Aaron Perlupo for sending us pictures of SCAN 06 and VOODOO 1. You can follow him on Instagram here.