The Navy may have to issue a stop-work order for Knifefish, a vital component of the Littoral Combat Ship mine countermeasures mission package, because the program office is running out of money, Inside the Navy has learned.
Unmanned Systems
August 11, 2017 |
The Joint Requirements Oversight Council is delaying validation that the RQ-4 Global Hawk's capabilities are on par with those of the U-2, as the Defense Department waits to see whether Congress scraps that certification requirement in the final fiscal year 2018 defense policy bill.
August 11, 2017 |
The Air Force plans to mature extended-range technology for its Block 5 MQ-9 Reapers under an undefinitized contract action issued March 30, a service spokesman said this week.
August 08, 2017 |
The Army is using ground vehicle manned-unmanned teaming during an annual live-fire exercise this month.
August 07, 2017 |
The Air Force is on track to employ 100 enlisted airmen as RQ-4 Global Hawk pilots by March 2020, the service told congressional leaders in a report last month.
August 04, 2017 |
U.S. Strategic Command is broadening its previous guidance on countering unmanned aerial systems to include space and missile defense assets.
August 04, 2017 |
The Air Force is preparing to open the question of integrating autonomy into aircraft and computer systems to industry through a recent broad agency announcement that leverages the service's earlier work in that field, an Air Force Research Laboratory official told Inside the Air Force this week.
July 24, 2017 |
A rudimentary system to help operational units defeat unmanned aircraft systems is neither "omniscient" nor "universally able," but helps to protect critical infrastructure, according to the commander of the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment.
July 24, 2017 |
The Army plans to demonstrate multiple leader-follower capabilities in October as part of a collaborative project with the United Kingdom, according to project managers at the Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center.
July 21, 2017 |
A Lockheed Martin spokeswoman told Inside the Air Force this week the company will have options ready for Congress and the Air Force if Senate language telling the service to explore the idea of an unmanned U-2 is approved in the final fiscal year 2018 defense policy bill.
July 18, 2017 |
Some of the largest defense contractors are increasingly taking positions in the unmanned maritime systems market, buying companies and readying for new Navy programs.
July 12, 2017 |
Textron's Aerosonde unmanned aircraft system was recently cleared by the Navy to compete for sea-based intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance task orders in U.S. Africa Command, U.S. Central Command and U.S. European Command.
July 11, 2017 |
The head of Air Force Air Combat Command wants broader authority to deal with small, unmanned aerial systems after service assets were threatened twice last week.
June 30, 2017 |
CREECH AIR FORCE BASE, NV -- The success of introducing the Block 5 MQ-9 Reaper at the same time as the MQ-1 Predator sunsets depends in part on how Block 5 performs in combat.
June 30, 2017 |
CREECH AIR FORCE BASE, NV -- The commander of a key remotely piloted aircraft wing envisions the ongoing effort to retire the MQ-1B Predator by next spring will help refine the MQ-9 Reaper's mission focus, as the service begins deploying Block 5 Reapers and looking at what's next for the RPA enterprise.
June 30, 2017 |
CREECH AIR FORCE BASE, NV -- Looking ahead, the MQ-9 must retain a meaningful combat role as anti-aircraft threats intensify and push unmanned aircraft farther from the battlefield. Col. Case Cunningham, the 432nd Air Wing commander, argues that opens new doors for the RPA as a platform that can enable manned aircraft missions as combat becomes more permissive.
June 27, 2017 |
A new report from the Air Force Association's Mitchell Institute recommends the Defense Department establish an executive agent tasked with coordinating remotely piloted aircraft requirements and integration across the department.
June 26, 2017 |
A House panel wants to fence off the bulk of $222 million the Navy seeks in fiscal year 2018 to launch the MQ-25, the Unmanned Carrier Aviation program, until the service details performance parameters for the multibillion weapon system development project whose mission has shifted since the original requirement for the capability was validated in 2011.
June 25, 2017 |
The House Appropriations Committee released a draft version of its fiscal year 2018 defense spending bill Sunday night that would boost weapons procurement by $18.6 billion above what is sought by the Trump administration and $24 billion more than what was enacted in FY-17.
June 23, 2017 |
CREECH AIR FORCE BASE, NV. -- The Navy is considering a plan to recycle the Air Force's soon-to-be retired MQ-1 Predators for its own use, a Navy spokeswoman confirmed to Inside the Air Force this week.