Air Force officials say the production version of the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle has collected more than 96 percent of the “target deck”—some 5,000 images of enemy resources in the Southwest Asia theater. The UAV surveys large geographic areas with pinpoint accuracy, providing near real-time data, said Capt. Ty Gilbert, senior intelligence duty officer at the SWA combined air operations center. Another prized feature is the ability to re-task the aircraft, such as during a recent aircraft crash in Afghanistan when a redirected Global Hawk enabled USAF to provide crash site photos to rescuers by the time they received word of the crash.
The Pentagon has concluded a new agreement to buy laser-guidance kits that turn rockets into drone-killing weapons. BAE Systems and the Defense Department announced a framework deal of up to seven years for 25,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System guidance kits annually for the U.S. military.