The number of UAVs—ah, that’s now UASes—in use in Southwest Asia just keeps growing. We reported some 750 in July; now Dyke Weatherington, DOD’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Planning Task Force deputy director, says there are “well over” 1,000 small, unmanned systems in use in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was briefing reporters Wednesday about the Pentagon’s new Unmanned Aerial Systems Roadmap.
Small satellites meant to improve the way the U.S. measures Earth’s magnetic field—an option to expand the military’s position, navigation, and timing enterprise—launched March 30 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.