Only two weeks after the Air Force issued the initial request for proposals for its CSAR-X combat search and rescue aircraft program, one of the strongest potential competitors—the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor—is out. The reason? The aircraft is overqualified. Boeing has decided the V-22’s speed and range take it beyond the CSAR-X requirements. The Boeing-Bell team still plans to compete a variant of the H-47 helicopter. (DR, 10/18/05)
A top Pentagon tech official called on industry this week to help the military develop “lighter, more efficient” directed energy weapons designed to go on aircraft and conduct special operations missions or down drones—areas where the Air Force’s directed energy efforts have been quiet as of late.