Boeing and the Royal Australian Air Force have successfully flown their Loyal Wingman drone for the first time and signed a deal to co-develop another three aircraft and advance its capabilities for manned-unmanned teaming.
Unmanned Systems
March 3, 2021
The Army this month completed its Future Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System Rodeo, the capstone event following a yearlong soldier touchpoint with different drones in an effort to replace the Textron RQ-7B Shadow.
March 1, 2021
The MQ-9 Reaper is emerging as a possible contender for the Air Force's armed overwatch acquisition, a communications node in the Advanced Battle Management System network and a battlespace awareness enabler in Europe.
February 18, 2021
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's new LongShot air-launched, armed drone program will consider a series of design options -- and a possible down select -- before flight testing a contractor-built prototype in fiscal year 2024 at the earliest.
February 11, 2021
The Army wants information from industry on an autonomous unmanned aircraft system that can perform aerial resupply to infantry brigade combat teams, with the first unit equipped by fiscal year 2026, according to a notice posted today.
February 11, 2021
Radio communication between the Army's upcoming family of Robotic Combat Vehicles and human controllers would need to extend about 1.5 kilometers under current draft requirements, a service official said today.
February 5, 2021
The Navy is searching for a vertical lift capability with maritime strike to replace its current fleet of MH-60R/S helicopters and MQ-8B/C unmanned air vehicles, releasing a request for information last month to inform a future analysis of alternatives.
February 4, 2021
The Air Force Research Laboratory is making progress on its vanguard programs that accelerate groundbreaking technologies through experimentation -- despite some recent testing issues in the Skyborg and Golden Horde efforts -- and is deciding which capabilities to focus on next, according to Brig. Gen. Heather Pringle, AFRL's commander.
February 2, 2021
The Marine Corps needs to move at an "uncomfortable" pace in acquiring unmanned platforms, service Commandant Gen. David Berger said Tuesday at the National Defense Industrial Association's Virtual Expeditionary Warfare Conference.
February 2, 2021
The Pentagon in fiscal year 2022 is planning to select the first increment of an initial low-collateral interceptor capability for procurement and fielding, officials from the Army-led Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aerial Systems Office told reporters today.
February 1, 2021
The Army will host a Future Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System "Rodeo" at the end of this month through the first week of March, a service official told Inside Defense last week.
January 25, 2021
The chief executive of Huntington Ingalls Industries says the company, which has made multiple unmanned acquisitions in recent years, will continue to keep spending in the area.
January 21, 2021
The Navy’s Ghost Fleet Overlord unmanned surface vessel traveled 4,700 nautical miles “almost entirely autonomously” from the Gulf Coast to California as part of its test trial, the service announced last week.
January 20, 2021
The Navy’s Ghost Fleet Overlord unmanned surface vessel traveled 4,700 nautical miles “almost entirely autonomously” from the Gulf Coast to California as part of its test trial, the service announced last week.
January 19, 2021
Lockheed Martin executives believe their experience doing integration on surface ships and autonomy work for aircraft and underwater unmanned vessels has prepared the company to tackle the Large Unmanned Surface Vessel.
January 14, 2021
The Navy's unmanned procurement efforts are under harsh scrutiny due to the past failures of other programs, Gregory Slavonic, the outgoing Navy under secretary, said Wednesday.
January 13, 2021
The Pentagon's chief weapons tester says the government needs to spend the next 10 years updating weapons testing processes and infrastructure, paying special attention to space and cyber capabilities.
January 13, 2021
The Navy is "bullish" about the capability of the industrial base to produce unmanned maritime systems, Capt. Pete Small, the program manager for unmanned maritime systems, said Wednesday.
January 11, 2021
The Defense Department today released the recently approved, counter-small unmanned aircraft system strategy to direct DOD's C-sUAS activities in a variety of operating environments. (UPDATED)
January 7, 2021
The Army today released the recently approved, counter-small unmanned aircraft system strategy to direct the Defense Department's C-sUAS activities in a variety of operating environments.