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.
The Air Force’s Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile is behind schedule and may significantly overrun its expected cost, which could partially explain why the service is reviving the hypersonic AGM-183 Air-Launched Rapid-Response Weapon.