Senior Pentagon officials are expected within the next month to give the green light to the development of a uniform training strategy for unmanned aircraft called for by the Government Accountability Office, according to an official with the Joint Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center of Excellence.
Unmanned Systems
August 12, 2010 |
Inside the Pentagon
August 11, 2010 |
Daily News
The Office of the Secretary of Defense is nearing completion of a new independent cost estimate of the $13.7 billion Global Hawk program conducted as part of a sweeping review of the high-flying, long-endurance unmanned aircraft, according to sources familiar with the effort.
Ashton Carter, the Pentagon's acquisition executive, in June directed the review of the Global Hawk program, including the preparation of a new cost estimate by the office of the Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation.
August 06, 2010 |
Inside the Army
The Army has opted to remain with its current Shadow unmanned aerial system fleet, tabling an advanced follow-on capability for at least two years, according to service officials.
August 06, 2010 |
Inside the Army
The Army plans to weaponize the Shadow unmanned aerial system for the Marine Corps, and will analyze the results to better inform the service's path forward for its own Shadow fleet, according to an Army official.
August 06, 2010 |
Inside the Army
The Army plans to develop a universal ground control station for its small unmanned systems, including its family of small unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned ground vehicles, according to a service official.
August 06, 2010 |
Inside the Army
The Army plans to conduct a competition for its family of small unmanned aerial vehicles, although approval of a capability production document allocating funding has been delayed, according to service officials.
August 06, 2010 |
Inside the Navy
Another delay for the Northrop Grumman-built X-47B unmanned combat air system demonstrator (UCAS-D) has pushed back the first flight to December and sea trials to 2013, but the program manager told Inside the Navy last week he believes the program is now on track.
August 06, 2010 |
Inside the Navy
After meeting its technical objectives in Limited Objective Experiment 4 last month in Hawaii, the team behind the Ground Unmanned Support Surrogate is planning a second spiral of technological development in advance of another similar experiment next summer.
August 06, 2010 |
Inside the Navy
The Navy wants to find out what unmanned aerial systems can do for explosive ordinance demolition operations, according to a request for information posted on Federal Business Opportunities last week.
August 02, 2010 |
Daily News
Another delay for the Northrop Grumman-built X-47B unmanned combat air system demonstrator (UCAS-D) has pushed back first flight to December and sea trials to 2013, but the program manager told Inside the Navy today he believes the program is now on track.
Last November, Naval Air Systems Command announced that first flight would be delayed until early 2010. Capt. Jeffrey Penfield, UCAS program manager, said in an interview that a review of the program was conducted in the spring and "we came out with a new schedule in late April to early May."
July 29, 2010 |
Daily News
Boeing subsidiary Insitu Inc. has been awarded a contract for the Small Tactical Unmanned Air System after months of delays, the Pentagon announced today.
The contract was originally scheduled to drop by the end of fiscal year 2009. However, the award was pushed back in December of last year, and again in May.
July 26, 2010 |
Daily News
The Navy is setting requirements for a medium-range unmanned air vehicle that will follow in the footsteps of the Fire Scout and may be deployed by 2019, officials told Inside the Navy last week.
July 23, 2010 |
Inside the Navy
The Office of Naval Research met with industry last week to discuss establishing a program of record for a Navy cargo unmanned aerial system by the middle of the decade, and a Marine Corps official said a successful deployment of an immediate cargo UAS system could lead to exploding demand across the services.
July 23, 2010 |
Inside the Army
The Army's 25-year "unifying strategy" initial capabilities document for its unmanned systems is being prepared for an Army Requirements Oversight Council review, after which service officials expect it will be sent to the Joint Requirements Oversight Council for final approval by the end of the month.
July 23, 2010 |
Inside the Army
The Army is mulling the ramifications of operating unmanned ground systems in complex environments, considering questions of legal liability should an incident occur, according to Army Capabilities Integration Center officials.
July 22, 2010 |
Inside the Pentagon
An ongoing Defense Department effort is focused on bringing ground stations that control unmanned drones more in line with that iPhone resting in your pocket.
July 16, 2010 |
Inside the Army
The Army is conducting a joint capabilities technology demonstration of a ground vehicle Combat Autonomous Mobility System, the results of which will inform an autonomous navigation capabilities development document the service is creating.
July 15, 2010 |
Daily News
Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli today raised questions about the service's Common Controller program -- a kind of beefed-up joystick for steering various unmanned systems from afar -- saying a similar functionality could be achieved with much cheaper, commercially derived gadgets.