Marine Corps Gen. James L. Jones, Supreme Allied Commander Europe and head of US European Command, clearly has high hopes for NATO, which he recently told a crowd at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., has a “quite bright” future. The alliance is growing more agile and proactive today, said Jones, because its members and partner nations are “pulling together on the same oar” as they collectively face threats from terrorism to natural disasters. He praised efforts to achieve greater standards of interoperability. He also expects to see nations at great strategic distance that want to align with NATO. Jones said that the alliance currently has about 30,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines, of whom more than 3,000 are from non-NATO nations, participating in operations on three continents.
General Atomics, the maker of one of the Air Force’s first Collaborative Combat Aircraft, has ambitious plans for its family of semi-autonomous drones beyond the FQ-42, including a flying-wing aircraft capable of carrying out both reconnaissance and strike missions. Meanwhile, the Air Force Research Laboratory announced a new program to…