Unmanned Systems

Robotics testing and prototypes would receive some sizable gains in the Army's fiscal year 2019 budget request.

The Air Force is asking Congress to fund a new $13.5 million procurement program for the RQ-20B Puma in its fiscal year 2019 budget request, after the service unsuccessfully tried to reprogram money to purchase the small unmanned aerial vehicles last year.

Citing a 2026 initial operational capability threshold, the Navy is seeking $234 million more than projected for its unmanned tanker program in fiscal year 2019.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is focused on developing platforms and systems containing a "significant amount of autonomy," as the Defense Department pushes for technological breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and manned-unmanned teaming.

The Army is "taking risks in favor of accelerating programs," particularly robotics, according to a service official.

General Atomics has received $49.3 million to develop common MQ-9 Reaper software under an open agreement that facilitates upgrades to the remotely piloted aircraft, according to a Defense Department contract announcement.

A demonstration of the U.S. and British armies' robotic systems last October gave a glimpse into the future of transporting supplies to the front lines without drivers. It was the beginning of a three-year project to eliminate risks inherent in the "difficult and dangerous" last mile, according to an Army release.

The Army is in the midst of a review of all requirements for small unmanned aircraft systems, with the results expected to drive all future small UAS requirements, the service told Inside the Army.

Developmental testing on Northrop Grumman's RQ-4 Global Hawk revealed the MS-177 sensor's electromagnetic interference could lead to false signals intelligence reporting, the Pentagon's director of operational test and evaluation wrote in his fiscal year 2017 report released this week.