According to The Huntsville Times, the Army is still fighting centralized management of unmanned aerial vehicles. However, this time around, the Joint Requirements Oversight Council appears to have sided with the Air Force—at least somewhat. The JROC reportedly agrees that the Air Force should take point for higher-flying UAVs, but it wants to set up joint program offices. Still to come, though, is a decision on combat operational control. The Air Force wants medium to high altitude UAVs under the control of the joint air boss. And, late last month, the Government Accountability Office indicated that US Central Command deems that a “critical factor,” as well.
Space tourism company Virgin Galactic announced a new partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory’s space warfare directorate to collect and share space weather data from the company’s suborbital spacecraft, due for its first commercial flight next year.