The Army today released its Small Unmanned Aircraft System Strategy, detailing how the service will align resources and make decisions to facilitate tactical overmatch using the aircraft through 2035.
Unmanned Systems
September 30, 2020
September 30, 2020
The Navy captain overseeing the MQ-4 Triton program said Tuesday he believes the unmanned maritime reconnaissance and patrol aircraft could eventually be used to detect the launch of hypersonic missiles.
September 29, 2020
The Air Force has conducted the first flight test of the MQ-9A Reaper carrying eight live AGM-114 Hellfire missiles -- twice the number it can currently hold -- to show the remotely piloted aircraft's ability to perform "persistent attack" operations in future conflicts.
September 29, 2020
The Marine Corps is aiming to field a trimmed-down version of a new land-based, unmanned aerial system in fiscal year 2023, according to a Navy officer overseeing the aircraft's development.
September 28, 2020
The XQ-58A Valkyrie drone is expected to be operational again next month following a mishap over the summer and will soon fly with a gateway communications pod that could enable F-22 and F-35 fighter jets to stealthily exchange data.
September 25, 2020
Air Force Materiel Command is considering sending industry a second request for information to support market research into the multiple roles an MQ-9 Reaper replacement, or MQ-Next, can perform as a node within the joint all-domain command and control infrastructure.
September 25, 2020
Under the force structure suggested by a group of third-party analysts enlisted by the deputy defense secretary, the Navy would build a fleet consisting of nine aircraft carriers and more than 100 unmanned ships while projecting an effectively flat budget for the foreseeable future.
September 24, 2020
The Navy this year is laying the foundational efforts to maintain its envisioned fleet of unmanned surface and undersea vessels by combining a multiple award contract for hardware components and a new prototype for integrating autonomy software, a Navy officer leading the efforts told Inside Defense.
September 23, 2020
The Air Force is planning formal studies to consider options for a future autonomous tanking architecture that could include a mix of small, remotely piloted refueling aircraft and larger, more survivable tankers.
September 23, 2020
The officer leading a prototype effort designed to incorporate new autonomy behaviors on unmanned vehicles says he envisions multiple opportunities for industry to get involved as integrators, testers and network providers.
September 22, 2020
The Marine Corps is examining top-level requirements for ground robotics programs, Maj. Gen. Kevin Iiams said Tuesday.
September 18, 2020
The Air National Guard's MQ-9 enterprise has been quietly fighting under the radar to show the remotely piloted aircraft has utility in future operations by transforming its hunter-killer counterinsurgency capabilities to better enable joint all-domain command and control under a little-known initiative called the "Ghost Reaper," multiple sources tell Inside Defense.
September 17, 2020
The Air National Guard's MQ-9 enterprise has been quietly fighting under the radar to show the remotely piloted aircraft has utility in future operations by transforming its hunter-killer counterinsurgency capabilities to better enable joint all-domain command and control under a little-known initiative called the "Ghost Reaper," multiple sources tell Inside Defense.
September 17, 2020
The Air Force is eyeing an investment of about $100 million in its vanguard programs -- which strive to accelerate transformational capabilities to the battlefield -- in fiscal year 2024 to meet the demands of the service's 2030 Science and Technology Strategy.
September 16, 2020
The White House has sent the Senate Armed Services Committee a list of provisions in the fiscal year 2021 defense authorization bill it does not like, but chose to lead with one President Trump has said would make him veto the entire must-pass bill -- the re-naming of U.S. military bases that currently honor Confederate leaders.
September 11, 2020
The Pentagon is planning more tests of the Agile Condor pod that enables an MQ-9 Reaper to autonomously surveil targets with artificial intelligence -- such as algorithms developed by Project Maven -- for extended periods, even if connection to the ground station is lost.
September 11, 2020
The Army is addressing capability gaps and receiving feedback from units assessing prototypes of the Future Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System as the service works to define a capability development document for the effort, a service official said yesterday. (UPDATED)
September 11, 2020
The Army's first soldier experiment for the Robotic Combat Vehicle effort showed some software issues that need some work, according to one of the officials involved.
September 10, 2020
The Air Force is collaborating with the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center to leverage the digital infrastructure enabled by its enterprise-wide cloud, software development and data support initiatives to achieve Project Maven's original goals and develop 'AI as a service' for all the military departments.
September 10, 2020
The Navy urgently contracted the use of five wind-powered, unmanned surface vessels for data collection during a major exercise with the intent to survey industry for other capabilities if the demonstrations are successful.