Using gaming industry technology, Raytheon has developed a new “cockpit” for unmanned aerial vehicles and calls it the Universal Control System. Raytheon officials say they sought to build the system around the operator, developing a wrap-around display that will give the operator more situational awareness than any manned platform. The UCS has an “intuitive interface technology” that Raytheon says will make “UAS operators much more effective in learning the UCS system and with significantly less training.”
The Pentagon agency charged with building and operating U.S. spy satellites recently declassified some details about a Cold War-era surveillance program called Jumpseat—a revelation it says sheds light on the importance of satellite imaging technology and how it has advanced in the decades since.


