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 Air Force’s Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile is behind schedule and may significantly overrun its expected cost, which could partially explain why the service is reviving the hypersonic AGM-183 Air-Launched Rapid-Response Weapon.