The Marine Corps last November notched a successful demonstration of the planned Navy and Marine Corps Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System, firing a Naval Strike Missile from a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle in an event that validated the basic design concept and supports continued development of the Remote Operated Ground Unit Expeditionary -- or ROGUE -- vehicle, according to service officials.
Unmanned Systems
April 5, 2021
April 2, 2021
The schedule for installing the MQ-25 control system on Navy aircraft carriers is "under review" due to recent changes in the ground control station, a Navy spokeswoman tells Inside Defense.
March 31, 2021
Rear Adm. Gregory Harris said the "family of systems" in the Next-Generation Air Dominance Program will involve a combination of manned and unmanned systems, with the goal "over time" of getting to a 60-40 ratio in favor of unmanned systems.
March 26, 2021
Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA) said she doesn't have "the confidence" in either the technology or the integrity of autonomous platforms for unmanned systems to replace the current naval fleet.
March 19, 2021
Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), who recently joined the Senate Armed Services Committee, is urging Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to continue funding the Air Force's MQ-9 Reaper production line as he develops the Pentagon's fiscal year 2022 budget proposal.
March 18, 2021
The Army will host its second soldier operational experiment for the light and medium Robotic Combat Vehicles from June to August 2022, a service official said March 16 at the Association of the U.S. Army's Global Force Next conference.
March 18, 2021
Just two days after the Navy released its unmanned campaign plan, the first chance for senior Navy and Marine Corps officials to defend their framework was met with skepticism from House lawmakers.
March 16, 2021
With an eye on China's huge naval fleet, the future of technology and possible flat defense budgets, the Navy and Marine Corps unveiled a plan today to expeditiously incorporate unmanned systems into the aviation, surface and subsurface fleets to keep up with the dynamic security landscape.
March 9, 2021
The Defense Department through the Joint Counter-Small Unmanned Aerial Systems Office is asking industry for solutions on a new prototype open systems architecture project focused on High-Level Data Fusion, according to a recent notice.
March 3, 2021
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.
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.