Muellner said Boeing is putting greatest emphasis on persistent intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance assets, along with long-range strike, “because those are the two areas that our customers say are their greatest needs.” Toward that end, Boeing is emphasizing unmanned aerial systems with long endurance—“the unblinking eye,” Muellner said—range and sensors. However, he cautions that the sensor is not enough, that the information must be networked and distributed to provide overall situational awareness.
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
