Unmanned Systems

U.S. Southern Command is looking to shift a technology demonstration of unmanned, persistent surveillance systems into a Defense Department program of record, according to the command's chief.

The Army is conducting live-fire and force-on-force experiments until next March with more than 50 of the service's latest technologies focused on informing the service's unmanned aircraft systems strategy, autonomous resupply and shortening the sensor-to-shooter chain.

The Senate Appropriations Committee does not support the Navy's request for two Large Unmanned Surface Vessels in fiscal year 2021, according to the panel's FY-21 defense spending bill released yesterday.

The Army's Fires Center of Excellence will be creating a counter unmanned aircraft system academy focused on training common systems at its headquarters at Ft. Sill, OK, according to service officials in the Joint C-UAS Office.

L3Harris Technologies and Martin UAV will conduct live demonstrations of their unmanned aerial systems later this year at Yuma Proving Ground, AZ, as part of the Pentagon's effort to replace a current drone used by naval special forces for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

L3 Harris Technologies and Martin UAV will conduct live demonstrations of their unmanned aerial systems later this year at Yuma Proving Ground, AZ, as part of the Pentagon's effort to replace a current drone used by naval special forces for intelligence, surveillance reconnaissance.

As a result of the chief of naval operations tasking the service to develop an unmanned campaign plan, the Navy has created a "war room" to map out the capability gaps in its unmanned systems, according to a senior official.

​The Army has received an approved set of operational requirements for its efforts countering small drones and is planning engagements with industry to address specific focus areas, the service leader in charge told reporters yesterday.

The Army, with Textron, has completed the live-fire test portion of the RQ-7 Shadow V2 Block III drone follow-on operational test and evaluation effort, according to company and service officials.